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AN ADDRESS 

OF 


o 

TO THE PUBLIC; 


CONTAINING 


CISHTAIN TESTlMOKXiLL 


IN REPUTATION OF 


THE CHARGES AGAIJVST HIM, 


MADE 


‘BY G£N. ANDREW JACKSON, 


TOUCHING 


THE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 


• . FRAJVKFORT,K. 

e^-PBINTED BY A* G. HODGES, COMMENTATOR OFFICE^ 


'4* II’' 











.C (,\ i 5 


^Iemo. h was my infentioa to have published the testi- 
Oiony, now laid before the public,at an earlier period; but 
unavoidable delay, in the collection of it, has retarded the 
execution of that intention. The letter of General Lafay¬ 
ette,and other important documents, have been but lately 
received; and others, which I had just reason to expect, have 
not yet been obtained. 

H. C. 




V 








u - 

V 

! HOPE no apology to the public is necessary for present 
fhg to it these pages, f am deceived if an ample justifica¬ 
tion of tlie act will .not be found in the breast of every just 
and honorable man. Ifajiofiicer of the Government should 
Tiot be too sensitive, neither sliould lie be^too callous, to as¬ 
saults upon Ids character. When they relate to the wisdom 
or expediency of measures winch he may have originated or 
supported, lie should stieudy repose in tiie candor and good 
sense of the cornnaanity, and patiently await the develop¬ 
ments of time and experience. But if his integrity be vital¬ 
ly assailed; if the basest ^nd most dishonorable motives for 
his public conduct be ascribed to liim; he owes it to the 
country, his friends, his family and himself, to vindicate his 
/ calumidatcd reputation. Few men are so elevated that the 

shafts of calumny cannot reach them. These may securely 
trust to the invulnerable position which they have attained. 
Tiie United States have perhaps hitherto produced but one 
man who could look down from his lofty height, without emo¬ 
tion, upon the missiles and the malice of his enemies; for e- 
ven he bad liis enemies. If the malignant character of char¬ 
ges, the acrimony with which they have been asserted and 
repeated, or the perseverance winch h;is marked their pro- 
pagfition, could ever authorize an appeal to the public, [ 
ttiink 1 may truly sa}', that I have this autliority. For three 
years I have been the object of incessant abuse; every art^ 
every sjrccics of nfisrcprcsentalion, lias been employed a- 
gainst me. The most innocent acts—acts of ordinary social 
iniciTourse, and of common civility—offices of hospitality, 
even a passings.ilutalion, have been misrepresented and per¬ 
verted, to my prejudice, witli an unfairness unprecedented. 
Circumstances hiive been assumed, which 'bad no existence, 
and inferences have been drawn from them which, had they 
been real, they would not have warranted. Besides, mv cn- 
* icmies have themselves appealed to the public, exhibited Iheii 
charges, and summoned their witnesses to its Bar. Rcadv 
now and anxious as I am, and always b.ave been, to submit 
any act of my public life to a full examination before any im¬ 
partial and respectable tribunal wliatever, I surely may ex¬ 
pect, at least, that I shall be patiently heard by that which 





4 


iTiy accusers have themselves selected. I assure them that f 
will present no plea to the jurisdiction. 

But desirous as I naturally atn to repel the calumnies 
which have been directed against me* the public would liave 
f)een spared the trouble of perusing this address, if General 
.•fackson had not, in the course of the last Spring and Sum¬ 
mer, givej) to them the open sanction of his name. In his 
letter to Mr. Beverly of the 6th of Jnne last, he admits tiiat,. 
in inferring my privity to the proposition which he describes 
as borne by Mr. Budianan, he mn.y iiave done me injustice; 
and, in his address to the public oftiie IBtii of July last, giv¬ 
ing up the name of this gentleman, ns his only witness, he 
repeats that he possibly may have done me injustice in as¬ 
suming my authority for that proposition. He even deigns 
to honor me with a declaration of th.e pleasure which he will 
experience, if I should be able to acquit myself! Mr. Buch¬ 
anan has been hoard by the public; and I feel justified in as¬ 
sorting that the first impression of the whole nalion was, as it 
is yet, that of every intelligent mind unbiased by party pre¬ 
judice, th.at bis testimony fully exonerated me, and demon¬ 
strated that Gen. Jackson, to say no more, had greatly mis¬ 
conceived the purport of the interview between them. And 
further; that, so far as any thing improper was disclosed \w 
Mr. B., touching the late Presidentiol election, it aliected 
General Jackson and his friends exc lusivcl}'. He having 
manifestly injured me, speculation was busy, when Mr Buch¬ 
anan’s statement appeared, as to tlie conise which tlie Gen¬ 
eral would pursue, after his gratuitous expression of sympa¬ 
thy with me. Tliere were not wanting many persons, who 
bfJievcd that his magnanimity woiiid immediately prompt 
him publicly to retract his charge, and to repair tlte wrong 
which he i)ad done me. I did not participate in that just ex¬ 
pectation, and tlierefore felt no disapj>ointment that it was 
not realized. Whatever other merits he may possess, 1 have 
not found among them, in the course of my relations with 
Lim, that of forbearing (o indulge vindictive p;issions. His 
silent contemplation of, if not his positive acquiescence in, the 
most extraordinary interpretation or I\lr. Buchanan’s state¬ 
ment, that ever was given to iturnan language, has not sur¬ 
prised me. If it h?,d been possible for him to render me ai;i 
act of spontaneous justice, by a frank and manly avowal of 
liis error, the testimony now submitted to tiie public might 
have been unnecessary. 

Although I feel fully persuaded that the community, nn- 
dor rny peculiar circun'istanccs, will see, without di^sntisfarr’ 


lion, if not ilh cordial appro!)a(ion, (his furdicr ctTort to ros;> 
cuo my c'naractcr iVorn «iair.orit€d iinpiuation?, 1 should nev’- 
cniudoss have rcanaiucd and ciiccrfi.illv abided i(s de¬ 

cision, on (fje disclo-^ures and explanations herctoi'ore made, 
it 1 Ii.k) no .additional facts to offer to its consideration. But 
a oody of iiighly important evidence has been collected, cs- 
tanlibhini^ some fnaterial circumstances not before generally 
known, and cojifirming others of which the public is already 
in possession; and I have thought it due to the occasion not 
to wiliutold it. 

.Gen. Jackson having crdirely failed to establish, by any 
aftirmative evidence, eitlicr positive or presumtive, the charge 
wiiicii iie thought pu-oper to promulgate against nr.e, it occur¬ 
red tome tliai it might be possible, ditlicult as the task gen¬ 
erally is to substanti.ato a negative, to adiluce proof of that 
character, whicfi would establish the gi’oundlcss nature of 
iiis accLisalion. Prior to the appearance in llie public prints 
or'the from jMi-. Carter jh'verly to his friend in F.ay- 

ettcville, dated the Sih of I\l;ireh last, I had never believed 
t.hat General Jackson h.ad countenanced the truth, or lent 
I'.imseifto the circulation of the charge. I had indeed, long 
before, seen in one of tlie Nnshvllle papers, assertions, inju¬ 
rious to me, wliieh created some snsjucions th.nt they had 
oman.'jtcd from him; but 1 dismissed these suspicions as being 
altogcllier incompatible with lire lofty ciiaracter which 1 
wished to believe that lie possessed. When however 1 saw 
that letter, and the uncontradicted corroboration of its con¬ 
tents by tile Pditor of the Washington Telegr.cpli, I was re- 
luciantly compelled to believe tliat he had given currency to 
the ch.irge against me. In (hat letter, ?vlr. Beverly says: ‘*1 
•' have just reiurned from Genera] Jackson’s—I fninid n crozed 
“ of company wilit him. Seven Vii’giaians were of lire uum- 
‘‘her. ife gave me ji rncst friendly reception, find urged 
me to stay some days longer witli him. Ho told me ll'ils 
inonting before e// his conipyany iii reply to a question I put 
to hiin concerning the e.leclion of John Quincy Adams to 
the Presidency, Unit W.*-. Clay’s fiiends made a propontion 
“ io Ids friends that, if tiiC)' \vould promise for h.im not to put 
Mr Adams into the scat of Secretary of Sfato, Clay find his 
“ friends would in one iionr m.'i’te him (Jackson) the presi- 
dent. He most indignantly fijected tim proposition, ;md 
“ declared he would not compromise himself; and unless most 
“ openly and fairly made the President,!)}' Congress, he nev- 
“ er would receive it. He declares that he said to them that 
“he would see the wiioie e-nhsitik under nim btioro ne 

A2 



0 


would hnrcnin or inirijijue for it.” In the Washington ^ify 
'!'( legrapli of the 2Clh day of April last, the Edit(w states; 
‘‘ in tlie Journal (hi^ morning we haveanothcr quotation from 
the Democratic press, purporting to he the otlicial contra- 
diction by Mr. Clay of the statement of General Jackson 
‘‘ radative to the overtures made to him as to the formation 
“ of his Cabinet, previous to the late election of President.— 
That Gen. Jackson has spoken ofsuch overtures 
ally know, ^ In the same paper of the 28(h of April is the 
following paragraph: “The Jouf nal is out this morning in re- 
“ ply to our remarks of Thursdiiv, in which they ntrect to 
‘'consider it highly improper in General Jiukson to spe^ik of 
“ the overtures made by Mr. Clay’s friends—and why? be- 
“ cause, says the Journal, he ts a Candidate against Mr. Ad- 
“ ams. Now we stated explicitly that Gen. Jackson spoke of 
“ these ovc’ tures in March, 1 825, beA:)re he was announced 
“ by the Legislature of Tennessee as a Candidate.” 

The charge, if it did not originate wdth, having Iren thus 
sanctioned and circulated by Gen. Jackson, and implicatii.g 
as well my friends as me, I thought it proper, havii^g myself 
rt'peat^dly and positively denied its truth, to resort to the 
testimony of those gentlemen from tlic West who had voted 
witii rne for Mr.'Adams. Accordingly a friend of mine, Dr. 
Watkins, at my instance, addressed a circular to those gen¬ 
tlemen, during the last Spring, ijiviiing tlieir attention to the 
Fayetteville letter, and inquiring ifthere were, any truth in 
in its averments. - And he lias obtained from all of then) but 
two, answers which are now presetted to the public. These 
answers will be found in the Appendix, (see A) arranged ac¬ 
cording to th.e respective delegations from which they pro¬ 
ceed. T‘ e writers of them are men of as high respectabili¬ 
ty as any in this Union. Where I’ncy are known, (and sever¬ 
al of them are well known in various parts of the country,) 
tlaur stalemen<s will comm uid unqiiali'iad belief. The ex¬ 
cellence of titeir diaracSers is so wall ost >hlished that a mem- 
hor of the liwU-e <:>rR(-prescnta(ivcs, who will not be presum¬ 
ed to ho dlsrjoscd to bestow on them iindeservecl encomium, 
■f'!i liimsrdi t onsti-.dmcd to h;‘:!r his testimony to it. Mr. Mc- 
'Dur.io Si'.id i I tin- House of F.-'presentalives, on the debate of 
the proj osiiion to rofer to a ('ornmilloe the appeal which I 
made on ll'.o occasion of Mr Kro,inc!'”'s card: “Let me addh 
one w'ord to the friends of Mr. Clay on this door (and there 
arc no nv nducrs on this floor, for whom generally I feel more 
respect,) I have been informed that some of his friends.sup- 
j)Oce that the amendment 1 have ofiered contains something 



which is intended to hoar harshly upon thern. Not so; iidt 
So. My object is merely to confine the char^os made agah st 
the honorable Speaker to the very words of the letter of the 
gentleman • from Pennsylvania.” This jiis^ but voluntary 
tribute was expressed on the 4th ofFeh. 1825, (see Nat. fn- 
telligencer, 5lh of same month.) Oti the 31st March 
more than thirteen months after, when the ameitdmoni lo 
the Co!i5titution was under discussion, proposir.^ a new mode 
of electing a President, the same gontlenuin is reported to 
iiavesaid: “Now I have (he greatest respect for lliose g ‘n- 
th incn who were the personal and political friends of Mr. 
Clay in the late election of President. J\''('xt to nu/ ou'n per- 
sonal friends^ there arc none whom 1 estimate more hshlyd^ (S-' C 
Nat. Intelligencer Srd Mav, 1826.) ' These answers are not 
only entilicd to llie fullest crcdil^ from liie high respectabili¬ 
ty of the characters of those gentlemen, but deserve great 
coolidfuice from the fact that they have [)oen respcclivtdy pre- 
p<iro'i by tiieo>selves, without any concert whatever, so far 

I i'jjovv or believe, and when Uiey were at liieir several 
residences, wididy sep.<ratec! fre^m each other. 

The members from Ohio who voted for Mr. Adams w'cre 
Gon. Me Arthur, Gen. Vance, General Beeciicr, Mr. Shame, 
ho r., Wright, Mr. V^iiiton, Mr. McLean, (brother the j-** st 
Ai iilcr General} Mr. Whittlesey, Mr. Bartley, and Mr. Pal- 
tc‘iSi»n. Fromearh of these getlemen it will be seen Uiat an 
ox licit and unqualified negative is given to the statemerhs of 
the Fayetteville letter. Gen. McArthur declares them to he 
“i-oLally destitute of foundation.” lie alleges the faci lo 
iiavc l)een,that “the Ohio delegation (or at least a large ma- 
joi ity of them) were th(‘ first of Mr. Clay’s IViends wiio cair.e 
to the dalerrmnation of vodng for IMr. Adam-: «a7 fliU fno 
without having ascertained Mr, Clay's views on the subject," He 
slates that some of the fiiends oi Gt cciai used t.c 

language of menace, wliilst others of them employed that of 
persuasion lo prevail on my friends to vote for the General; 
and ttuit they apj»eared to be willing to' make any promises 
wiiich tin y Ihotight “would'induce the friends of Mr. Clay to 
vote for Gen. Jackson” 

Gen. Vance states,“T sav without hesitation (hat I never 
Inard of those, or any other terms being thought of, as an 
equivalent for the vote we were about lo give; jior dv) 1 be¬ 
lieve ihat tite friends of Mr. Gla v, or Mr. Clay himself, ever 
thought of making or suggesting any terms to any one of the 
parties, as tiH" ground'^ ;KT.ei)tance or rejection of ei¬ 

ther of the three Candidates returned to the House ofRe^ 


a 


presentatives.” Ho continues: ‘^as'ono of tlic original friends' 
of Mr Cla>,I was in llie lja})it oi tree and uniaserved con¬ 
versation bot!) \vi;li him and his frieiids, relative to that elec¬ 
tion, and 1 iiin bold to say that I never beard a whisper of 
any thing like a condition on winch our vote was to be given,- 
mentioned either hy Mr. Clay himself, or any of his friends, 
at any lime or under any circumstances.” 

Gen. Beecher testifies that he did not ‘dinor/ that a 
friend or the friends ol Mr. Clay ever made any proposition 
to the friends of Gen. Jackson, respecting the election of Mr. 

-Adams as President in any way, or as respecting Gen. Jack- 
sou not putting Mr. Adams into the seat ol'Secretary ofState 
in case he (Jackson) should be ciected President. iS’eithcr 
am I acquainted w ith a friend of Mr. Clay that would con¬ 
sent to be an agent in siicli n degrading transaction. Nor 
can i admit that the fiicnds of Mr. Clay had so centempti- 
hle an opinion of each other or of Mr. Clay, as to suppose 
that the appoiiitment or non-ap})ointrricrit of any man to any 
office would infiuence thorn in the discharge of an irrq;ortai;T 
public duty.” 

Mr, Sioane declares,‘dhat I have always supposed my¬ 
self in the entire confidence ofall Mr. Clay's supporters and 
friends, who weic members of C(»ngress at the time of ihe 
Fresidentia} election; and liavt I have r,o iiesitation in say¬ 
ing that [ never Iieard .the most distant insinuation from any 
of tiiem tirat they would vote for Gen. Jackson, if ll ere was 
any prospect of choosing either ofUic other candidates.— 

That any of the friends of Mr. Cl y in Congress ever made 
any proposition of conditions, on w hich their votes w'ould de^- 
pend, to the firiends of Gen. Jackson or any other person, i 
do not believe.” ‘*And as to Mr. ClaCs accepting an op. 
pointmeiA under him, they w’ould to a man most certainly 
have opposed it. 1 judge of tills fr< m (he opinion wiiidi 1 
know they entertained of Genera.! Jackson's want of capaci¬ 
ty, and the fact tr«al it was not until some time after the 
choice oi Mr. Adams that they agreed to advise ftlr. Clay to ! 

accept of the office he now holds.” ‘Bn short I feel confi¬ 
dent that (he whole is a vile and infamous falsehood, such as 
honorable men would not resort to, moie especially after 
having upon full consultation and deliberate consideration de- ^ 
dined an investigation of the whole matter before a Com- i 

mitteeofthc House of Representatives,” j 

Mr. Wright states,‘B can only say sincerely and unequivo¬ 
cally, that I do not know’or believe that any proposition of i 

the kind mentioned as from Gen.. Jackson, was ever made to ! 




f 


9 - ' 

the Aiends of Gen. Jackson by the friends ofiMr. Clay or any’ 
ot them; and liiHt I arn wholly ignorant of any roiulitions of 
sort being proposed to an) one by ihe friends of Mr. 
Clay, on a compiiaiice with whicit their vote was made to 
depend.” 

Mr. Vinton is equally explicit. He says, “having been 
one of the friends of Mr. Clay who voted for Mr. Adams, I 
cheerfully avail rnysell of this opportunity to sav, that 1 have 
no knowledge whatever of the above mentioned proposition 
or any other proposition having been made to General Jack- 
son or any of his friends, by Mr. Clay or any of his friends aS 
a condition upon wliich his or their vote was to he givei) Vo 
General Jackson for the Presidency.” He subjoins that '‘It 
was well known to my constituents for many months previous 
to the late Presidential election that, after Mr. Clay, Mr. Ad¬ 
ams was rny next choice an»ong the distinguished individuals, 
w ho w ere then before tlie people of the Utiited States as 
candidates for that exalted station.” 

Mr. McLean declares, “that no such proposition was ever 
made within my know ledge, nor have 1 any cause to believe 
that conditions ofany sort w ere made, at any time, by the 
friends ofMr. Clay to any person, on a compliance w ith 
which their vote was made to depend.” 

Mr. Whittlesey avers tiiat “1 do not know or believe that 
any proposition was ever made by any of Mr. Clay’s frieitds 
to those of Gen. Jac kson, on the morning of the Picsidentiai 
election, or at any other time, having any bearing on the can¬ 
didate to be selected from the three returned to the House, 
nor do f know or believe that any conditions ofany sort were 
proposed by the friends ofMr. Clay to any person,.on a cem- 
pliancew'ith w hich their vote was made to depend ;” “but 1 
do believe tliat ihe assertion made by Gen. Jai kson as re¬ 
ported by a higlily respectable Virginian, and all of the cl.ar- 
ges of a like character, imputii^g either to Mr. Adams or to 
Ml*. Clay, or to tlieir friends, any improper, inconsistent, cor¬ 
rupt or fraudulent conduct, on tliat interesting and momen¬ 
tous occasion, are base slanders, known to be such by those 
w ho put them in circulation.” 

Mr. Bartley expresses the belief in justice to Gen. Jackson^ 
that he never made the declaration alluded to b) Mr. bi.v- 
erley: “For the General w'as there when the election took 
place, and must inevitably have know n that such a statement 
would carry falsehood on the very face of it.” Pic adds “I 
was in the Plouse, I liolieve every day ot ihat session, at 
which the President was elected; and have no hesuatiori in 


to 


saying that so far from making any proposition, oroveriure^ 
were the friends of xMr. Clay, in favor of the General, that 
had the friends of the General made such a proposition we 
would have considered it as an indignity offered to our inte¬ 
grity and understanding.” 

Mr Patterson is brief but pointed. Hesays:‘‘I fratikly state. 
to you that if any such proposition as you state was made by 
the friends of Clay to tlioseofGcn. Jackson, I l^ad no know¬ 
ledge of it, and i was one of the friends of Clay. 1 there¬ 
fore believe tim report to be without an Imnost fnindatinn.” 

In passing from the testimony of tlie delegation fr.am Oliio 
to that of Kentucky, we shall find it to Ire not less irresisti¬ 
ble and decisive in negativing t!;e declaration of Gen. Jack- 
son, communicated to the public through Mr. Beverly. The 
Kentucky delegation consisted of twelve members; eight of 
whom, Mr. Trimble, Mr. F Johnson, Genera] Metcalfe, Mr. 
Letcher, Mr Btickner, Mr Thompson, Mr While, and myself, 
voted for Mr. Adams. From six of them, statements liave 
been received. That from Mr. White has not reached tliis 
city; but 1 am justified in stating that he luis repeatedly, 
within his district after his return lo Kentucky, home un¬ 
qualified testimony to tiie falsehood of all charges of corrup¬ 
tion in the election, and especially to^the propriety of my 
conduct; and I have no doubt that he will, whenever called 
upon, repeat the same testimony. 

Mr. Trimble says; “I do not know' of my own knowledge, 
»or have I been informed by others, that offers, propositions, 
or overtures such as aYe spoken of by Gen. Jackson in his 
letter to Beverley, or similar thereto, or of any kind whatever, 
were made by Mr Adams or his friends, to Mr Clay or his 
friends; or by Mr Clay or his friends, to Gen Jackson or his 
friends. 1 do not know', nor do i believe that Mr. Adams or 
bis friends made overtures or offers, directly or indirectly, to 
Mr. Clay or his friends to make him Si cretaryof State, if 
he and his friends would unite in aid of the election of Mr. 
Adams. Nor do! know or believe that any pl('.dgo or prom¬ 
ise of any kind was made by Mr Adams or his friends to Mr. 
Clay or his friends, 'o procure his aid in the election. 

‘‘I never heard from Mr Clay, or any of his friends, or any 
one else that he was willing t<) vote for Gen Jackson iftlic 
€ien. would say, or any of his friends for him, that Mr Adame 
should not be continued Secretary of State. Nor do I know 
or believe that Mr Clay ever expressed a willirn.rness, or any 
of his friends for him, to support or vote f >r Gen. Jackson, if 
he could obtain the office of Secretary of State under him,” 


11 


do not know or believe that any overtures or oilbrs of 
any kind were made by Mr. Clay or his friciids to Mr. Ad¬ 
ams or his friends to vote for him or support him if he would 
make Mr. Clay Secretary of Stale; or to Gen Jackson or his 
friends to vote for him or support him, if he could obtain the 
office of Secretary of Slate under him; nor do 1 believe Mr 
Clay would have taken office under him if he had been elect¬ 
ed.” 1 shall hereafter )>ave occasion to notice other parts 
of the letter of Mr. Trimble from which the preceding ex¬ 
tract has been taken. 

Mr. F Johnson states in bis answer to Dr. Watkins, “I 
have no iiesitation however in answering your enquiries.— 
After writing the above extract, yon say to me.” “If such a 
proposition were ever made by the friends of Mr. Clay to 
those of Gen Jackson, it must have been known to many per¬ 
sons, and the fact therefore may be ascertained. May I ask 
the favor of you to inform me whether you kfiow or believe 
any such proposition was ever made, or whether conditions 
of any sort were made by the friends of Mr. Clay to at)y per¬ 
son on compliance with which their vote was to depend.” 

“To the first branch of the enquiry, my answer is that I 
have no knowledge of any such proposition, nor do I believe 
any such was ever made. To the second I answer that I 
neither know of, nor do J believe that any conditions of any 
sort were made by the friends of Mr Clay to any person, on 
compliance with which their vote was to depend.” 

Gen Metcalfe, with his characteristic firmness and frank¬ 
ness, says; “I have to state that I never heard or thought of 
such a propositsoii until the letter of the highly respectable 
Virginian appeared in the public prints.” He proceeds, “As 
one of the friends of Mr Clay 1 enter the most solemn pro¬ 
test against the right of the General, tliroiigh this organ the 
highly respectable Virginian, or otherwise, to say that I 
would have assisted in making him President on the condition 
stated. On the contrary, if I could have been made to believe 
that Gen Jackson would not have ofifered to Mr Adams the 
place which he had filled with so much ability under Mr Mon¬ 
roe, that belief would have constituted in my mind a strong 
additional objection to the General’s success.” “If it is in¬ 
tended to import the belief that Mr Clay’s friends were de¬ 
sirous of obtaining the appointment for him to the exclusion 
of Mr Adams or otherwise under Gen Jackson, as oneot his 
friends, I pronounce it a base and infamous assault upon the 
motives arM honor, so far as I aYn*concerned or believe, of 
those who did not choose to support him for the Presidency,*^, 


reply to your second enquiry, I have to say that if condi¬ 
tion:-of any sort were ever made by the friends of Mr Clay 
to any person, qd a compliance with which their vote was 
made to depend,! know nothing of it.^’ 

Judge Letcher, the only member of Congress who board¬ 
ed la the same house with mf*, during the session at wdiich 
the Presidendal election was m Me, testifies: ‘‘I know of no 
such proposition or intimation, nor have 1 a knowledge of any 
fact or circumstance which would induce me to believe Mr 
Clay’s friends, or any one of them, ever made such a propo¬ 
sition to the friends of Gen Jackson.” 

M»- Thompson says; ‘4 know of no proposition made by 
the fri(‘nds of Mr Clay to the friends of Gen Jackson to make 
him Presidenl if he would not select Mr Adams to the seal if 
Secretary; and I do not believe a proposition of any kind 
was made, and I expect if the friend of the General should 
ever speak on the subject, he will be a second Kremer.” 

Mr Buckner testifies:‘dn answer to your enquiries on tbig 
subject,] will remark that 1 have no reason to believe that 
any such proposition w'as made. Indeed no proposition of 
any description relating to the election of President was made, 
so far as 1 know or believe, by Mr Clay’s friends to those of 
Gen Jackson, or of any other person.” 

Mr Scott, the member from Missouri, slates that “neither 
Mr Adains nor his friends ever made any promises or over¬ 
tures to me, nor did they hold out to me any inducements of 
of any sort, kind or character whatever, to procure me to 
vote for Mr Adams. Nor did Mr Adams or any of his friends 
ever say or insinuate who would be placed at the head of the 
D'*partinent of Stale, or any other department, in the event 
lhai Mr Adams should be elected. Nc.r do I believe any pro¬ 
positions were made to Mr Chiy or his friends, by Mr Adams 
or liis friends. If there were ! know it not.”' ‘‘I never made 
to Gen Jaekson or to any of bis friends any proposition, in 
reference to the Presidential election, either as regarded the 
appointment nf Mr. Clay or any other person to office, or the 
cx< lusion of Mr Adams or any other, person from office. I 
WHS iieitner spoken to by Mr Clay or any of his friends, about 
making any proposition to Gen Jackson or his friends of any 
kind wdiatever, nor did lever hear it insinuated or hinted^ 
that any proposition was made or intended to be made, by 
Mr Clay or his friends to Gen Jackson or his friends, or to 
any other catididale or their friends for or relating to the 
Presidency. And I do believe, had anv proposiiion heca 
tnade or intended to have been made by Mr Clay or his 


13 


iViand^S tVom niy intimacy and constant intercourse with 
them, 1 'hv)uld itave km-wn or lieard luvr^of.” 

Mtjssrs^- Guiky and Brent were the two members who 
gave the vote of Loui^iana to Mr Adams. Mr Guriev de¬ 
clares,'■‘that I t.ave no knowledge ot any proposhi(n:b g 
been made by the friends ot‘ Mr Clay or any of them to ti.e 
friends of General Jackson or to any other person, in r^da- 
lion to the election of Breside'nt, or the proposition of cotidi- 
tionsof any sort, on a comphance with which their vote was 
made to depend, i believe ttie chargeMvholly destituie of 
trudi.” 

Col. Brent says, “In allusion to the Fayetteville letter I 
cannot express the indignant feelings it excited. It is the 
fabrication of a desperate man, who to obtain his object 
dares to assert what he knows to be false. You ask me to 
say, whether I know or believe that such a proposition was 
ever made, or whether conditions of any sort were proposed 
by the friemdsof ivir Clay to any one, on tne compliance with 
which their vote was made to depend. No honorable man 
can believe for a mcmeid that such a proposition was ever 
made, or such a condition stipulated. I was a friend of Mr 
Clay’s throughout the contest, 1 was in the confidence of all 
his friends, at]d i declare to God that £ never heard of such a 
thing until it was asserted by the disappointed adherents of 
Gen Jackson. 1 am not only ignorant of any such arrange¬ 
ments, but do not believe they ever existed.” 

Thus there is now before the Public llie united evidence 
of the delegation from every Western State whose vote w s 
«onferred upon Mr Adams, except that of Mr Cook, the Re¬ 
presentative from Illinois. Along and lingering illness, terr 
minating in the death of that Gentleman prevents the sub- 
mi^-sion ofhis. But it is well known that Mr Adams was l is 
choice, throughout the whole Presidential canvass. Al¬ 
though there existed between him and myself good will and 
respectful intercourse, he never was politically nor personal¬ 
ly my friend. 

Including Mr White, the public has the evidence of twen¬ 
ty dififerent members of Congress, embracing all my friends 
Trom the VV'estern States, who voted for Mr Adams. Tbeir 
attention was chieliy directed, in the preparation of tlieir 
respective statements, to the Fayetteville letter, and it is lo 
them that their testimony principally appHei?. On that 
point, they all concur, in pronouncing the most unqualified 
negative, and, on other points, several of them arc not less 
explicit. It is credible, it is consistent with the ordinary op- 



14 


eraiions oi human iiaiure, (hat liirse Gmllf-menj without any 
pcrsoual interest or motive wh atever, should have first base- 
ly given their concurrence to dislionorablc overtures, for my 
sole benefit, and then should unanimously agree in falsiiViiig 
themselves? 

In the published circular which, in March 1825, -I ad¬ 
dressed to my Constituents, I remarked “at that earl) peri¬ 
od” (early in November 1824)“J stated to Dr. Drake, one of 
the professors in the medical school of'Ibansvlvania Univer¬ 
sity, and to John J. Ciittcnden, Esq. of Frarikfort, my deter¬ 
mination to support Mr Adams in j)refcrence to (sen. Ja( k- 
son.” I did not, at that time, recollect, nor do 1 probably 
now, all the occasions on which I ♦ xpressed, in conva rsotioii, 
my • pinion ofthe unfitness of Gen. Jackson for the Ihesidcn- 
c\, and rny preference ofeitlier of the olher candid..ics. I 
3( membered distinctly tiie conversation 1 had hcl(l with Dr. 
Drake and John J. Crittenden, E^q. and therefore referred 
to them. In severed instances, similar conversations have 
been since br- ught to "my recollection Ity Gentlemen with 
wliom,or in whose presence they occurred ; and it is, from a 
voluntary and friendly communication ofthe purport of them, 
that lam now enabled to lay before the ibddic a consideia- 
l)h portion of the mass of testimony, (including that ol Dr. 
l)rake) on tliat particular topic which is now presented.— 
(See Appendix B.) 

The testimony establishes that, on variotis occasions and 
times, begining in Kentucky as early as about the 1st ot Oc¬ 
tober 1824,j,and continued in the City of Wa^liington, down 
to the period when my determination to vote for Mr Adams 
was generally known in this city, 1 uniformly expressed my 
conviction of Gen. Jackson’s want ot qualification, and n.y 
fixed resolution not to vote fi r him, if 1 were ( ailed upon (o 
give a vote. These sentiments, long cherislied, were delil)- 
eratel} expressed, to Genllernen ot the highest rcspectabili- 
t}, most old hem my pi rsonai and particular friends, in all 
of whose estimation 1 must have stood dishonored, it 1 had 
voted for Gen. Jac kson contraiily to my declared purpose. 
T ns purpose was avowed imme(iiately preceding my depar¬ 
ture from Kentuck} to attend Congress, and immediately on 
IDV arrival iiere after the teiniinatiun of tnc^jouiney. L-avid 
Trimble Esq. states that, about the first of October 1824, he 
bel l a conversation with me at Fia -.kfort, in Kentucky, on 
the subject and prospects of the pending election, winch he 
.details minv teJy, and that in the « our^e of it 1 said “that I 
dould not consistently with my principles vote for General 


lo 

,Ta(‘kson, itiider avy possible circumslwices.^* I 
linn all tlio objertioiis wiiich wcigluMl u\\ m> mind, and 
wliirli have been so ol'ten stated, and especially tlmt which 
is fojiiuled upon Gen. Jaekson’s possession of militaj’y pre- 
t(‘nsion ooiy. And, in icterence to an objection wbi di 
Mr. 'rnmblo understood m (5 as enteitarnin- a.2;aiiist Mr. 
Adams, i>;r(jvvini? out of the nei^otiaiions at (ibent, Mr. 
Trimble statrs tiuit I remarked hat it Imd been i-reatly 
inai^tiihed by the friends of bis r<»mpe{i{er:s” “for c le( tuni- 
rei’in^ purposes,’* ‘'that it oui^bt to have no influetice in 
the vote wbicl*. lie ini2;i»t be called trpon to give; (bat, il he 
was weak enough to allow his pei-'^onai feelings to innu- 
e«.ce his public rondur t, there \vo;:i»lhono change irj nis 
mind (»n ibat accotint, bei ausc be was then on juueb wor-c 
terms with Gen. Jai kson abtmt tlie Seminole w ar, than bo 
could ever be with Mr. Adams about tiie treaty of Gin «»(; 
that in the selection of a chief Magist!*ate for Ibe Union 
lie would endeavor to disregard all pri\ ate fecli :g> and 
look entirely to the interests of the Country and the safety 
of its institulie.ns.” 

It appears from (be letter of Mr. Robert Trhnble, (one 
of ilie associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the C. 
States,) which accompanies that of Mr. D rrimble, that 
(lie latter had avowed lo (he, former, as early as February 
or Marcli 1824, his prt ference of Mr, Adams to either of 
the tlirec Candidates w ho were actually returned to the 
House of Repre.sentatives. 

Col. Davidson .the Treasurer of the State of Kentucky, 
and a mau of unblemished honor and unquestionable vei-a- 
city) states that during a visit which I made to Frankfort 
in the fall of 1824. and bethinks only a few days prior to 
my departure from Kentucky, to attend Congress, (it must 
therefore have been earl> in November, as 1 left home be¬ 
fore, or about the tenth of that month,) he liad a conversa¬ 
tion with me about the then pending Piesiilential election, 
in tlie course of wliirli be remarked, that 1 would have 
some difficulty to encounter in making a selection amongst 
the Candidates if I sliould be excluded from the House.— 
'll) vvliicb 1 replied; ‘T suppose not mucli; in that event 1 
will endeavor to do my diny faithlully ” lie ad«]s that I 
stated in the course of the conversation: “I canrmt con¬ 
ceive ofany event that can possild happen which could in¬ 
duce me to support the ele^-tion of Gen. Jackson to the 
Presidency. For if I had no other objecti m. his wan^ of 
the necessary quaiihcation would he sufficjeiiV^ Thestf 


7 


io 


madp a strong and lasting impression on ( of. 
i)a\iiisofds tnnul, arul when the rcsointions were Let’ore the 
Legisiatnro, requesting the delegation to vote tor Genei-al 
Ja(^ksun, Co!. Davidson informed several of his tricf'.ds of 
the conversation me, and that he was cojiv imcd 1 
would not s!jppoi‘t (ion, Jackson, lie coiumunicated the 
substance of tiiis conversatitni to George Kobertson ifsq, 
the Speaker of the Htmse of Representatives ofKetjtm’ky, 
wIjo concurred witli him, fRat I roiilii not cousisren'.ly un¬ 
der an}' circumstances vote for Gen Ja( kson. When the 
same resolutions >yerc before tiic Senate (of which Col. 
.Oavidson was then a Member) iu' rose in his place an.d op- 
’>()scd tliein, and imio'^.gthe \iews wim ii iu* j>resenied to 
ihat l)od}'. be stated that all the ilesnlutions which ihcij conld 
pass diLvins^ the whole session would not induce me ro abun- 
djai XVhat I conceived to he mif duty, and that he knexv I 
cuiilbnot concur with the majority of Lhe Legislature on ^hnt 
■Aihject. 

J<;iin J. Crittenden F/Sq. (w ho is referied to in tl-e cir- 
cuoa* to my Constifuents, but wliose statement has ntwer 
hicforc !>een exhibited to the publu') testifies: tliat, “some 
ime in tlie fall of 1824, conversing upon the siiljject of 1 he 
£ on pending i refeidcntial election,and speaking in reference 

}oui' e:i( ir.sion from the contest, and to } ourjbeingcaif* d 
upon to decide and vote hetsveen the other Cantlidafes 
who might be returned to tlie House of Representatives, 
you dei.lared that you could not, oi* that it was impossible 
-V)r}'oii to vote for Gen. Jackson in any event. “My im- 
^u'Cssioii is that tliis ronversation took place at Captain 
Weisiger’s tavern in tkis town [Frankfort, Ky.] not vtwy 
!oiig before you wamt on to Congress in llieFall preceding 
the last Fresidentia! election, and that the declaration made 
by you as above stated was elicited by some iuiinuiDon 
tliut fell from me of my preference for (acn. Jackson over 
ail the other Candidates except yourself.’’ 

So unalteifibly was my fixed resolution prior to mydepc'- 
ture fiom Kentucky, I have no doubt that in my promisiui- 
ous and uni eserved intercourse among my acquaintances in 
that State, othei's not recollected by me could bear testimo¬ 
ny to the undexiating and settled determination of my 
mind. It w ill be now seen that after, and immediately on 
my arrival at the City of Washington, I adhered to this 
purpose, and persevered in it until it was executed by the 
in tual deposite of my vote inHiC ballot box. 

in a day or two after I reacbedtlic city, and on sevcif^ 


N 


V 

other occasions, I had and unreserved conversations 
with Mr. Johnston, senator from Louisiana, to an ac¬ 
count of u iiirii, as given in iiis iclterintlie Appendix, I in¬ 
vite particular aitimtion. The first was on the Baturduy 
or Sunday before the commencement of Congress in 
and after! had seen v)r. Cinwford. ! staled to ]tlr John¬ 
ston tiiat, notwithstanding al! I liad heard, i liad no idea 
o IS actual condition, and that it was out of the question 
to think of making hitn President. Wo conversed fuily 
on ilie i-especiive pretciisiot.s of Mr. Adams and Generui 
Jarksou, and after drawing a parallel between them, i con¬ 
cluded by expressing a prefereirce for Mr. Adams, wiiici* 
*durned principally on his taients and experience in civil 
atfciirs.’* After the return of the \ oles of Limisiana, and 
after the resolutions of the General Assembly of Kentucky 
\V(‘re received, Mr Jolinstoii states my adherence to that 
preference. !lc concludes by observing, ‘diiat no fact 
c\ ercamct(> my knowledge that could in tlie sllgiitest de¬ 
gree justify the clmrge whicii has been exiiibited. On tim 
con’rar}, 1 know that your opitdon did not undergo any 
ehaege from tlie lime I. first saw you on your rctuim to 
M sliingtonc’ that is, prior to the meeting of Congress.*— 
dirii'iitg the pc* sent summer, two gentlemen in the Btaic ol 
]^ii^sis^ippi voluntarily told Mr. Johnston that they heard 
me cxpi-ess a decided [trelerence of i^.lr. Adams, at Lex¬ 
ington, bcfoi'e i left home for WasliiiTglan. 

vithough nut imim diutely coi^iected with the main ok 
je»'t of this address, 1 think it proper to refer to a pari 
of xMr. jonston’s letter, as sustaining two several state- 
lacnts made by me on foruc'r occasions, i stated, tu my 
Address to in\ couslitiUMits that, if I had received the Vv,i;: 
of Louisiana and been on 'of the tiicee canelid-Cu;; iOtUi-n 
cd, 1 had resolved, at a liine \vi;on I'sero w.as e> ecj. ‘.roba- 
ipiity ol my receiving if, that i would not allow my name, 
in < onscquencc of the stnall numbm* (jf \ oier, by w liich it 
Would be cai i ied into the lJou.se, ii 1 were letUt uc'J, to con 
.sti ute an obstacle to an election. Mi*. Joimnimmsuy.s. 
‘•\ou replied tiial yiiu would imt jiern.it il.c coantry to"bo 
di turbed a day on yum* accoun;; tliat yen wi,ird owi allow' 
vour name to intei’lore v, iiijlbe [nn/mpl decUijii oi' i..c 
question.*^ I stated at >vo’deks Inn, near i.oxingion, hrst, 
summer, Ibat I iiad requested a Senator, when my nouii- 
licition as Secretary ui' Slate .was u«ted upon, to Lio',e a 
Committee of inquii-y, if it should appear to him necc -sa 
itwh Mr. Johnston says; “After y cur deniiralioi! wa- 



19 


confirmed, you informed me tliatyou had requested Gen^ 
Harrison to move for a Committee in the Senate, if any 
thing; occurred to make it necessary. I replied that I di<! 
not ijiink any tiling had occurred to requii*e a Committee 
on 3 our part.’’ 

Mr, Bouligny, the other Senator from Louisiana, he- 
tween whom and myself a Ifiendiv intimacy Ijas existed 
throughout our acquaintance, makes a statement, which is 
worthy of peculiar notice. He bore to me the first authen¬ 
tic information which 1 recei\'ed oftlie vote of Louisiana, 
and consequently of my exclusion from the House. And 
yet, in our first interview, in answer to an inquiry which 
lie made, I told him, without hesitation,‘'that 1 should vote 
for Mr. A.danis iu preference to Gen. Jackson.” 

^^iththe present Secretrry of War I had a conveisa- 
tion in theearly part of the session of 1824-5, on leturn- 
ing from a dinner, at the Columbia College, at’^wliicli we 
both were, in company with Gen. Lafayette and others.— 
'I he day of the dinner was the 15tb of December, which 
may be verified by a resort to tlie National Intelligencer. 
In the course of that conversation, Mr. Barbour states 
that he expressed himself, in the event of the contest being 
narrowed down to Mr Adams and Gen. Jachson, in favor 
of Mr. Adams, and Mr. Cia} expressed a coincidence of 
opinion.” 

it will be recollected that Gen. Lafayette was in Wash¬ 
ington during the greater part of the session of the Presi¬ 
dential election. Hemofitioned the subject to me with his 
characteristic delicacy. Without seeking to influence my 
vote, or manircsting the least disposition to interfere in 
the election, lie made a simple imjuiry of me, which 1 am 
quite sure was pronqited by the deep interest which he felt 
in every thiiigtliat concerns the welfare of this country.— 
lam happy to be able now to subjnit the staleineiit oftlie 
General of w hat passed between us on that occasion. He 
says: ‘‘Blessed as I have lately been with the welcome, 
.and conscious as it is my happy lot to he of the affection 
and confidence of all partieh and all men in every party 
within the United States, ftfliugs which I most cordially 
reri[n'(K'atc, 1 c\ (n* hav e thouglit mvsell bound to avoid ta¬ 
king ativ part in local or personal divisions. Indeed, it I 
thought that in these matters my influence could be ot any 
avail, it should be solely exerted to deprecate, not by tar, 
the IVee, RepubriCiin, and full discussion of principles and 
Ciuididates/blit Ihujse invidious slanders which, althougli 


tVey are happily repelled by liic good Hcn.se, the candor, 
a«!(i in domestic instances, by the delicacy of the Ann ei- 
can people, tend to give abi'oiid, incorrect and disparagiog 
ii .pressioiiH. Yet, tJiat line of condnet from wbi' b [ most 
in;t deviate except in imminent cases now out of ibefpn's- 
ti;.n, does not imply a forgetfulness of facts nor a l elnval 
to -tatc tluui occasionally. My remembrance concurs 
with yonr own on this point, that in liie latter end of De¬ 
cember, either before or after my visit fu A.ntsapolis, you 
being out of’DK' presidential candidature, arnl alter liavi' g 
GXpi’essed my abovemeiitioned motives of forbearance. I 
by way of a confidentihl exception, allowed myseli' to put 
a simple niKjnaiilied question, respecting yonr electioneer¬ 
ing guess, and your intended v(jle. Your answer was 
tlmt in your ojdniou, tlie ac tual state of health of Mr* 
Cr awford liad litnitod thecontesMo a choice between Mr. 
Adams and Cen. J a< kson, that a daim founded on niilita- 
i-y atcliievements did not meet your preference, and that 
you liad concluded to vote fn* Mr. Adams. Such has l)een> 
if not t!ic literal wording, at ieai^t tiiC pr'oeise sense of a 
couvoisation whi li it would Irave been inconsistent fur 
me Hi carry fartlicr and n t t*) keep a sect el, while a re¬ 
collection of it, to assist your numiory I should not now 
denj, not only to you as my friend, but to any man in a 
similar situation.” 

dieii Lalavctte was not able to state,' w ith absolute pre- 
CLsion, tiie ilatc of the con\ersatiun hetvveim us, nor can I 
iniuertake to .specify the day, allliough I retain a perdVet 
I'ecollcction of the con\ersation It was, licsa^s, ‘Mn tiie 
hitler end of December, eiiher before or after iny \isi\ to 
Annapolis, >on Innng outot'tlse Presidential t aniiidatui'e.” 
lit', left W ashingt{»ii on the 16th foi- Annapolis, and re¬ 
turned on the 21st. [See National Inteliigencer.l If the 
c i'versation took place before that excur.sion, it must Isaxe 
been on or prior to the 16lU December. But he says I 
was out of the “Presidential Camlidature ” M hethei I 
slnmld be icturned to the House or not, was not ascertain¬ 
ed until the vote of Louisiana was known. Uumirrs had 
readied this city of the is.sue of it, previous to the 20th of 
tlm monfii; but the first certain intdligence of it was 
brought here by Mr. Senator Bouligriy on llie 20th, acerjr- 
ditig to his recollection. Gn Gen. Lafayette’s return fVoni 
Anna[)olis, the probability is that the subject of the Pres- 
idirnial election was a common topic of conyersati -o as 
infoniuuioii had tlieu just reached the city from Louisiana, 


^0 


1 culled to see liim imniediatolv uRcr liis retui'il, and, as it 
had been very (M)nfidcnlly expected that I worUI receive 
the vote of Louisiana, it is quite likely tliat it was on that 
occasion that he Ijeld t)ie cotiversation with me. IMiis 
would hx t!ie day to ha^ e been' pidor to Christmas. Biit 
whatever was the actual day, ther'C can he no doubt that it 
was before the memorable interview between Gen. Jack- 
son and Mr'. Buchiqian. 

here, llien, is an' un’oroken chain of testimony, commeiic 
ing early in October’182'?. anrl extending’to nearly tire 
;ind of the year, establisliing, beyond all conlruversy, my 
iixed and uuwaver irrg decision not to vote for Gen. Jurk- 
soir. Tliis purpose is deliberately manifested at dilVer ent 
p<‘rio(ls, in (lifferesrt places, and to distinguished ir!di\ida- 
als who would Imvehcenthc last in socie'y that 1 should 
iiisve tliougi'.t of deceix iug. This (estimorry stands invop- 
jrosed, ai;d, sslfh ti’ulh, cannot be opposed by a solitar-y 
inciividuaL 'riiere does not exist a birman being, and if 
the dead could be recalled, one could not be summovied 
iViiin viie grave, who corrld truly testify that I ever express¬ 
ed o)’ exer intimated the remotest intention to vote for 
Geu Jii'dison. irx any c onliagetscy xvhatevcr. .4s to him, 
luy mind xvas never- for- a moment iu doubt or* dinicirlty 
Asrd xx hatever pcj-sonal ps'c dilectitm i might have ent r- 
taioed for ^ij-. Craxvfoj-d, of'w hose state of health tlo-i e 
were such o})pos'nc representations iu the pribiic jn-ints, 
\Xiieu i Huxv him myself, there xvas no ahenrative iu my 
judgment but that xvhicli 1 embraced 1 hax c rea.so:) to 
heliexe that (wu. Jackson and Ids friends cherished no 
exj.'ectatirm thrrt I would vote for him. Gen. Call, (ire 
then delegate fj'om Florida, was his ai-der t and in imate 
fr iend, and had been his Aid. Tliey travelled together on 
their* jonrnex to Washington City in the fall of 1C24. In 
aiciterfiom Gen. Jackson to Mr. Laton, which is con- 
tarned in the GCtir page of the 28'. h \ol. of iNiles’ Fegistei-, 
he states that Gen. Call was witlr him on that jouriiCVy 
and lie ref-eis o him as ( ci-roborating his own memory re* 
lativeio a transaction at Wasiiiugtoii (Fennsyhanu?,; It 
is presumable t hat ihecieclion wrtii iis prospects audhojrcs 
lii isl hax e fi c jin’iitly (onned a subject (.«f coiix ci*satioii on 
the j luniey. . It c an sc arcely be doubted that Gen. Call 
was well accpsaintcd with Geir. Jackson’s x iews and exp»*c'- 
taliuns. a tavern at Lockx ille, in Maryland, about fif¬ 
teen inics from tins ci v, during that same journey, (Lua 
CaJ and several other gcmtiemcii engaged la coii ,ersauoa 


V 


SibouUhe pi'esidential election, Jolni Braddock, Rsq, (iX 
gentleman not kno N r) to me. but who, I understand, a 
inercliatit of great respectability) was present; and he 
slates that ^‘wlien the vote winc h Mr. Clay would proha- 
l)l> give was s])oken ot, Gen. Call declared tlcat ihofrietids 
of Gen. Jackson did not expect Mr. Clay to \ote for him, 
and if he did so, it would be an act of du[)licity on bis 
part.” 1 See Ap[)endix C.] 

In Gen. Jackson^ address to the publit- of the 18 h of 
July last, toucliing his previous statements to Beve r¬ 
ly, and rommunicating the name of Mr. Brn barmn, as the 
gentleman who bore the imaginary overture, he says, ‘*ioc 
origin—the begining of this matter was atm} own hoicse 
and fireside; wlicrc surely a freeman may be perm ttod to 
speak on public topics, without hav ing ascribed to him im¬ 
proper design^.” From tl:is statement the fair inference 
is. that Gen. Jackson intends to aver tliat lie had never be¬ 
fore spoken of Ids ciiaige against me^ The ‘hirigiiu the 
bsgiiiiiiiig” of ijiis rnaiter was, lie sav s, at bis own fireside; 
that is. it was in March Ihi?, when, according to Mr*. 
Iieveriy, before a crowd of rompanv, <'f which there we«(j 
no less than seven Virgiriians, he [iroclaimed his accusa¬ 
tion. I'he obligation to observe tlie priuriples of honor, 
and to speak w itb sc rupulous veracity of all men, and es- 
}>e(iH{ly otour competitors, is unaffected by time or place. 
The domestic fireside has no privilege which exempts a 
man of honor from the force of that obligation. On the 
coiitrai*} tliere, inoi'c than in any other place, in the midst 
of one’s family, should examples be exbitited of truth, of 
clear it}, and of kindness towards our fcilovv men. Ail she 
suiTounding circumstances tend to sootiie the vindic tive 
j)H,tisions, and to inculcate moderati ii. Wliether the pri- 
vih'gt s of the domestic circle have been abused by General 
Jackson, or not, in my instance, let tl»e impartial world de¬ 
cide. I'he attitude in wliicli he stood before the Amer ican 
pc'ople, and the subsisting relations between him and me, 
one might liave .snpjiosed would prompt him to the obser¬ 
vance of the greatest delicacy.—Has he practised it? If 
indeed, in an unguarded moment of liilarity, amidst his 
convivial friends, in his own domicil, he had incautiously 
touclied a subject, respecting which he might have been 
expected to prescribe to himself the most profound silence, 
he might possibly find, not any justification, but some ex¬ 
cuse for his indiscretion, in rhe public liberali y. But 
wiiat must be the general surprise when the fact turns oQt 


32 


fo be, that the —ihe bei^inina:” of this mat'er 

Ge)i. Jacks*>n, wasuol, as lie alh'ges, in aich, id27t h it 
at ica^^t two years hetorr* not, as tie also alleiie'^ at his 
o\vn fireside, hut in piibiir places, on the highway, at tnv- 
erns, and on hoard a steam hoa ! I hav e expect* d to re¬ 
ceive testiinon> toeslabtish (he fact of tiis promulgating 
iiis charge on all tliose various occasions, du.ing his jour¬ 
ney on liis return from Congress, in March,^ 1825. At 
present I have only ohiained it in part. [See Appendix I),] 

Mr. Daniel Large testifies, *‘tlnit on my nay down the 
Otiio from Wiiccling to Cincinnati, in the month of Mar! li 
1825, on hoard (he steam boat General Neville, a nonti- ma¬ 
ny oU»er passengers were Gen. Jackson and a numher of 
gentlemen from Pennsylvania, some of wiioin remarked (o 
the Geu tliat tliey regretted that lie liud not been elccicd 
president instead of Mr Adams. Gen Jackson i-eplied, that 
if lie would have made the same promises andoflTers to Mr. 
Clay, that Mr. Adams had done, he (Gen, Jackson) would 
tln n, in that case, liave been in the Presidcnfial Chair, 
l>;jf he would make no promises to any; that if he wc»it to 
the Presideetial chair, ho would go with clean hands and 
iinconti'olle.d by anj* one.’’ 

To this statement, Mr. V/iliiam Crosdell, who was pres¬ 
ent, subjoins a certificate tliat “it is a faithful account of 
Gen. Jiukson’s,conversation on the occasion alluded to.” 
Bntli of tliose gentlemen. I liavc been informed, are res¬ 
pectable citizens of Philadelphia. 

I have understood, that to the Reverend Andrew \Vylie, 
Major Davi.s, and others in Washington, in Pennsylvania, 
on one occasion; at a tavern in West Alexandria, in the 
same county on another; at Brownsville; at Cincinnati; at 
L'fiiisville; and at Bowling Green, in a tavern in K* ntuc- 
ky, Gen. Jackton made similar assertions. Should the 
additional proof expected arrive, it shall he presented to 
the public. Wliether such w as the design or not, Geh. 
.Jackson appears to have jiroclaimed his accusation, at such 
convenient and sejiarated points, as would insure its gen- 
cral circuiaiion. We have the testimony of Gen. Duff 
Green, (w hich is at least admissible on such an occasion) 
tiiat he persowflW^ knew of Gen. .lackson sjieaking to the 
same effect as early as March, 1825. 

That it appears that, in March 1825, at various places, 
in the presence of many persons, Gen, Jackson took upon 
himself to represent that Mr. Adams had made offers to 
and that if he had made similar proposals he and not 


^23 


M’’ Adam'S, Wf idd have heen elected Prosidenf. Witu 
\Swcil ti uth ti'v'u ( an liC assert, as he has done, that tlie. 
‘•oi igilP’ot his (lui> i^e u as two yeai-s altei-Nx ards at liis 
own lireside? ih‘ that he ’‘.has not J 2 ;onc itito tlie highways 
an(< n a k' l [)iurr. ” to jn oehnas his opinions? 

V» i:^i^t he I as inatn* m jo'oicsi against any benefit wl.'ich 
iri'goi a< ci'to' to liini'^ell hoin tiie (lisscinjt»Htiott of snt h a 
iii anisf no-, h< Ik < xtrenoMy desii (mss not to he eon- 
si(i< jedas il) public acciister lie has irnleed in)t appear¬ 
ed he oi e a gi and jni*} to si.])|;ort a bill of in()i< tn ei t a- 
ga.iist me. jNeither diti he arraign me, when, acting nn- 
dir tlie (, all) of a Senator of the United States. Ik* passet! 
nj on lo niiiiation. But, if he ran he regarded as a 
public ai I n.->er, w ho^on nunjerous occasions, to particular 
in(lj\idnais, as well as betdie crowds ot people, in publio 
a well as pri^H<e j lares, ciiarges another with a [jolitii al 
ofieni c, Iji nera! Jaei^son nniics the doidsie clia) a< ter of 
n;\ public and priwile ucenser—With him 1 ha\e been rC' 
Im lantl^ i onipelled to believe the accusation originated — 

hetiicr troni an honest ini>ronceplion of the purport of 
j\:i* Bai hanan’s intei view with him, (whii h no one ( an 
doubt was the sonree ol the caiumnv) or from the design 
oi promoting bis ow Si iiderests, the in jniy to me has be(*n 
ti e '-aine. 't he j;ahlic (as I ( ei tairlv liun) prior to the last 
Sninmer, snpjiosi (i f !»ai t lie chargi had onginalcd w itii xMr 
Cie irge kreinei’s ieiter to (he Columbian Ubserver. But 
ncent disiiosuics of lieneral Jar kson and bis pailisa s, 
satisfa(Morilv establish that, although the sternness of r. 
Ki emi r’s patriotism j)i on pied liim “to vvy aiond and spare 
not,’’ he must he strippi d of the horroweii merit of ongm- 
ai in\eiilion, which imjiarlial justice retjuiies should now 
bt* transferred to a more distingnished personage. A 
briel summary of incontestable laets will evince tiie just¬ 
ness of this (ih.^'crvalion. 

It was liie policy w itii wdiich the political campaign was 
conducicd in the W inter i8'24-i5, bv tiie forc es of the Gen¬ 
eral. in the first instatn'c to practice siratagem with my 
li ieiids and me. Accordingly tiie arts ol ])ersuasion and 
li.ittery were employed, lint as i did not hasten to give 
in my adhesion, and remained m si mvsteriously sile t, in 
oli'cr words had ni>t convcjted myself into a boisterous 
a' <1 zealous partisan of Gen. Jackson, it becomes necessa¬ 
ry to ciiange lliat policy, and to substitute intimidation foe 
b andishment. Mr. Krrmer pri'scnted liimsell as a lit 
agcul iu this new work. lie was ardent, impelicd by % 


24 


blind and iiifijriato zeal, and irresponsible, and possp3SP{\ 
ai least ilie faeuUy of elajnarous vonferaiioii. iL^s^ ie- er 
to, the i.oluuibiiin Observer was prepared, and i»e in¬ 
structed to sig’n and transmit it. That he was not ine au¬ 
thor oT t!»e letter tse Inis deliberately admitted to Mr- 
Crowninsbield, foinner Ss’cretarv of the Navy, That lie 
Wiia not arqnainted with its ( ontents. that is, did not com- 
prehend the insport of its terms, has been snlli ientl> es- 
tablisiied. 'io liov. Kent, Col. Little, (who voted in tliO' 
House of Rej)resentaiives f<»r Gen. Jackson,) Col. Brent 
of Louisiana, and Mr. Dii^gs, lie dis( laimed all intoition 
of impnlin.ic any thin,:^ dishonorable to me. (8eo Apjicn- 
dix E.) VVbo was the real autlno’ of the IcTter, pubil^^^ed 
ill the Columbian Observer, o wiiich Me. Eremer allixed 
his sii^natuve, i will not underlake positively to assert Cir¬ 
cumstances render it highly {)rob:ib!e tliat it was wrhten 
by Mr. r. alon, and witli the know ledge of Gen, Jackson, 
In relation to the rant of Mr. Is.remer, in ans\>er to that 
wliiclj 1 had previously inserted in the Nat. intelligencer, 
1 I'emarked in my circular to my constituents, thaf tuc 
iiighi before tbs appearance of Mr. Kremer’s, uis i was 
voluniht'ily informed, .>ir Cat<j!U a Senator from rennes- 
see, and the biogi aplie!’of Cien. Jackson, (who boarded in 
t!iP end ol ilie Citv uppu.site to that in wiiicli Mr. Rrenier 
look up bis abode, a distanre of about t wo miles and a half,) 
V,as cio.seled for some time v.itii him.” Tliis paragraph 
led to a corre.‘'pondcnce between Mr. Caton and myseif, in 
tiio course of whi('b, in a letter froni me to him, undtr 
date the Slsi alarcli, l02o, i observe, ’dt is propiT for me 
toaddtiiut I did believe, from your nortural interview 
w iMi Ml*, ki’emer, referred to in m> aildress, that you pre¬ 
pared or advised the pubiiialion of his cai’d, in tlie guard¬ 
ed terms in vviiicii it is exjoessed 1 slmnid be happy, by 
a disavowal on vonr part, of the fact of that interview, or 
of its sujiposed object, to he able to declare, as in the event 
of such disavowal, I would take jileasure in declaring rtiat 
I hav e iieen mistaken in snj);)osiiig that yon had anv agen¬ 
cy in Ihe compositi<m or pnbiication of that card ” Nooc- 
casi.iii can be C(>nr(‘ived more fitting for an explicit dciiia! 
of any partii ipation on the part of ^^l'. Eaton, in thetrar.s- 
ai lion referred to. It was ihe subject of tlie co;respon- 
dence het'vi'en ns; and [ pnrposel\ afforded him an honor¬ 
able «>pportn. it‘• of avowing -r disavovvii g any co-opera- 
tj 1 will: Kv i‘* enier. In• fead of embracing it. he d.ie.s 
imtdciij the nor my inference from iU On the con- 


To 


Irary, he say^? in his leffcr of the 3tst starch. 18 ?d, 
j)()se t!je tael to be that 1 <li(l visit (Miv Kreiner,) and 
suppose too tiiat it was, as vou have tenned it, a iioctui'al 
visit; was there any thing existing that should luuc deni¬ 
ed me thisprivi/eg^.’^ 

As Ml*. Kremer asserted that he did not write t!ie let¬ 
ter to the i ohunbiau Observer, ami as Mr. Katon does 
not deny that he wrote the Card, pnblHsl^ed in Mr. Kre- 
nier’s name; ilic inference is not unfair that havitig been 
Mr Kremer’s adviser and amamiensis on one occasion, he 
acted in tlie same character on the other. It is quite clear 
tiiat the statements in tlie letter to the Columbian Observ¬ 
er are not made upon Mr. Kremei'S own knowledge Ho. 
speaks of reports, rumors, 64 c,—Overtures were said to 
have been' made, Ac.’’ 


It is most probable tiiat those statements are founded on 
Gen. Jackson’s intcrjiretalion of the object of Mr. IJucban- 
an’s interview. How did he obtain the information wh:cli 
was communicated to the Columbian Obsei ver? Upon Uie 
supposition that the letter was prepared by Mr. Caton, we? 
can at once coiujirehend it. He was perfectly apprised of 
all thai liad passed betwein Mr. Buchanan and General 
Jackson. The coiijcidem e of the language employed in 
the letter to the C, Observer, w ith tiiat of Gen. Jat^kson to 
Mr. Carter Beveily is very stiikiug, and proves that it 
has a common origin. Mr. Kiemer sa,>s, ‘‘Overtures 
were said to liavc been n»ade to the friends of Clay, otiVr- 
iiig him the appointment of Secretary of State for his aid 
to elect Ml. Adams.” (ieii. Jacksou says, ‘•lie [Mr. 
BuchauanJ said he had been informed by the friends of 
^,r. Clay that tlie friends of Mr. Adams had made ovt 
fu^cstothem, saying tiiat if Mr. Clay and his frieuos 
w ould unite in aid of the election of Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay 
should be Secretary of State.” I'iie vai ialions betwei 11 
other parts of the two h tters are not greater tliari often 
occur in Uifterent narratives of the same conversation.~- 
'’I’hey are not so great as those which e.vst in t!ie ac'couins 
winch Gen. Jackson has himself given, at di.Tercnt times, 
of tile same transaction. This will be manifest from a 
Comparison of Mr. beverly’s repiirt of the conversation, 
at tlie Hermitage contained in his Fayetteville letter of the 
8 iii of March last, with Gen. Jackson’s statement of tue 
same conversation, in his letter to Mr. Boveily of the 6 t,li 
June. Speaking of this letter Mr. BeVerJy says 
0 


26 


iiis Ielt«:‘rto N. Z;\>ic, Esq.) that Gen. Jatksnn '^k\«;soris n 
gi eat (leal inure ilian he evtu' told me.^’ 

From the intimacy which existed between General 
Jackson and Mr. Fatrin, and IVom the fact, slated by them 
both, of the knowledge whirli each possessed of ?Ji' Bu¬ 
chanan’s coniiiuinication, it cannot he reasonably doubted, 
if Mr. Eato« j)repared Mi*, Kremer’s letter, tiiat Genm-al 
Jackson was acquainted with this fact, it is wort In ol par- 
-licular observation that up to ti»is day, as far as I aui in- 
foi’ined, Ml*. Ki emer lias most caii fuHy (om eahui the 
source whence lie derived the statements contained in his 
famous letter. 

The rancor ofparty spirit s])arcs nothing. V pervades, 
it penetrates everv where. It doe'* not scinj-le to violate 
lite sanctity of social and pt iva e intercours-c — It sulisfi- 
tutes for lacts dai k sunnises and inah voh nt insiniKUions 
*—it misrepresents and holds op ift false aisu invidious 
Jigiits, incidents. pei fc( tl> haniiless in themsf Ues, of nv- 
dinary occurrence, or of mere common i ivilitv. >Jf)rc 
than once, in these agitated times, has unsoKpccting atid in¬ 
nocent conversation, v\l!ich I ha^e held with an indix idoal, 
and whicli I ne'er entertaim d the slightest suspicion was 
to betiie text of newspapei* aniniad'ersion, been pnhiished 
with scandalous perxersions in the jiublic prints, and sup¬ 
plied aliment for malignant ( lititism. 'I be intercourse 
and relations between (iener al Jac kson and myself liave 
furiiisbed a ce pious theme of cieuaction and misrepirsen- 
fa'ion. These 1 cniarks aj*e made in Justification of llie 
allusion which 1 feel constrained to make to a Kubjec t 
which, allhough there is nolhiug appertaining to it that i 
can desire to conceal, or vxhich c an occasion me anx le- 
giet, should never be touched, willumt the most urgent ne¬ 
cessity. 1 would not now i cier* to it, if I hud not too 
Biiich ground to believe that he has countenanced, if not 
prompted very great misrepr'esentations, which haxe first 
appeai’ed in newspapers supporting his cause and < nj«>x ing 
his particular confidence, of circumstances, information 
about which must have been dei iveil from him. 

My personal a( quaintance with Gen. Jackson commen¬ 
ced in the Fail of lol5, at the City of ^Yashingion. Fri- 
or to tliat time, I had never seen him. Our inteivours© 
was then friendly and cor dial. He engaged to pass a 
Avoek of the ensuing summer at my residence in K.entucky, 
During that season. 1 received a letter fr‘);n him communi- 
ofeting his regret that he was preYciHed /rom \isiung 


i tlid not again see him unlii I’nat session of Congress ai 
%\ hu h ilu* events of the 6etnino!e Wai* were disrussei!—< 
lie arri\e(i in Wasiiingtoii in the midst of the debate, and 
after the deii\cry, but befoi e the |mhlication of tijo lirst 
speech Nvhi<'h i pronounced on Unit siibjert. SVai'.iftg all 
cereimmv, i l alied to see hi o, ititeuditig h} the visit to 
e\ir»ce. on my pact, that no opinion, wiiirh a sense of duty- 
had ( omiielUni me to express os his poi)iic conduct, ought 
to atfcct our persona! incercourse. My visit was not re¬ 
turned, and 1 was subsequently told that he was in tlie hab¬ 
it of indulging in the bitterest observatioim upon most of 
tlj<»se'^niyseif among llie number,) who had called in ques¬ 
tion the propriety of liis military conduct in the Seminole 
Vv at*. I saw no more of him, except possi(>Iy at a distance 
during tiie same w intc!', in litis city, until the summer of 
the \ear 1819. iieiug in that summer, on my way from 
!Nev*. Orh a IS to liCxingon, and travelling the same road 
ott whii h lie was passing, in l!ie opposite dtrection from 
L'xiugion to INashv ille, we met at Lebanon in Kentucky, 
where i !uuis1o|;t to breakfast. I was sitting at the door 
in the siiade read iig a newspaper, wiirn tiie arrival of 
(ienera! Jackson and liis suite was announced. As he as¬ 
cended the steps and aj)pr<»aciied me, 1 rose and saiuieei 
Iiim in the iuo!< respectful manner, ile darti’d by me, 
slightly in('linii-g head, and abruptly addtessed me.—- 
lie was followed by some of his suite who stopped utul 
conversed witii me stone lime, giving me the latest inlVo*- 
rnation of my lamily. Lafterwai-ds {rarnt that Gen. Ja Iv- 
son accompanied President Monis e, in a v isit to my fa n* 

, and partook oYsonie sbgli relreshment at my house. 
Gu leav ing till' tavern at Lebanon, I had occasion to go in¬ 
to a room where i found Gen. Jackson sealed reading a 
revvspajjcr, and i retired, neither luiving sjioken to l.iie 
(itiier, and pursued my joujuiey, in company with four or 
iiv c tj av cliiiig cionpanious. 

Such was tiic state of our relations at the commence- 
mtmt of the session of L'oiigress in lc33, the interval hav¬ 
ing jiassed vvitliout my seeii.'g him. Soon aficr his arri¬ 
val here to attend tliat session, I collected from cei'iain in¬ 
dications tiiat lie had resolved ujion a general amnesty, the 
beiiefii of whii'h was to be extended to me. lie became 
suddenly reconciled with some individuals between whom 
a id himself there had been a long- existing enmity. Tim 
gi eater part of the Tennessee delegation ail J believe ex¬ 
cept Mr. jLaton and General Cocke) called on me together' 


cas']y in the session, (he express pnrjpose, as 1 ujidei -- 
stoo(!, of producini^ a reconcilianon betwecni us. J i j'la- 
fed, it) substaure, all of tl’.e abo\e rirctjtn.sljifiees, iiiclfi' 
cliuti: t!)o )neeli?i! 2 ; at Lebas)on. l>y way oP apology (or Ids 
coudiiet at Lebanoti. sonjc of the gojitlenien rctnai ked thiil 
ho did notiuteiid any (llfcr{‘S{)Cct lo luc, bu? (bat lie was ia" 
boritie; under sotne indisposiiion. ! stated (bat (be opiii' 
ioj)s V.hicbS had expressed in tlje tioust? of Kopiosoda- 
tives, in regas'd to Geii. Jackson's niilitary trausaetions 
had been siijccrely esiicriattjed ajid were still lieid, but that 
bcittg opinions isi resjteet lo public arts, (bey never liad 
been siipjiosed by lue to foiou at'v just orrasion for [)ri- 
\att‘enmity between us, and (iiat none had been rhejisbed 
on SUV piu’t. Costia'qneiitlv (here was on iisy side no ob- 
Htaelc to a uieetiiig witli bijo, nnd maiutainittpt a re.sp‘cct- 
i'n! it'.tereonrsc. For the puj'pnse of brisiging us togetiicr, 
lije '’i'ejiiiessce I’epresenlat i\*es, ali of whom, ac!co)'diiig to 
niy j-erellection, boarded at Mt's Clax-mi's. on Capitol ihil, 
ijiive a dimici- to wbi( h we wcie hot): i))vitcd, and at whicb 
i remernbe?-, iMr. Setfutor W hile, then acting as a Coju- 
inissioncr under tiie Florida tis'ati’, asnl oiIkm's \^crc itrc- 
.sent—We (hero met. exi liatiged salutatioiis, and dined (o* 
gelijer. I retired from (be table ear;\ , and was folio\v(“u 
to (he doo)* !)y (ioi). Ja( kson asid Mr. Fatos), who ibisis'ed 
oj) tny takifig a scut in Ibei)* carriage. I roile witii (ijetn 
‘a)ul was set down at my own lodgnigs I was afterwards 
invited by Gen. Jackson to dine with iiirn, where I met 
w ith Mr. Adams, Mr, Calhoun. Mr. Southard ainl mai)y 
other goidemen, ('hief!} members of Congress, lie also 
tiisied, in coftijjany with iillee)) or eighteoi members of 
CoMgi-ess, at my lodgi'igs, a)id v\e ficquoitly in(d in (he 
rf)ui'sc of (lie wiiitcjq always respectfully addi-cssi)ig each 
other. 

Just before ! left Kentucky the succeeding fall (Nov. 
18M,) to pj'oeeed to Washington, a )*epoi't reaclo'd Lexing* 
ton tijat Gen. jaeksou intended to take that place in his 
route lo the ci(y. Our friendiy intei-course having been 
restored, in (lie manner stated, 1 was ver-y desirous that 
he should arrive, ]»riar to my dej)artus*e (rom home, tliat I 
might offer lo hitntbe hosj>ifaIity of my liousc, aJid lest he 
might misinterpret the motive of my de])ar(ure, if it pro- 
reded his aradvid. lu this temper of mind, 1 think it 
(]uiie pos.siiile that 1 may have said (hat, if 1 i)ad been a- 
v.art^ o( his inleution to pass (hat way, I would iiave writ¬ 
ten to hiiu wi.cu i intended to sel out^ and urged him to 


. 2r 

reach Lexington before I started on my journey. I cer- 
tair.ly never contemplated travelling in company with 
him, having some time before made al! my arrangements 
lor the journey with the gentleman who accompanied me, 
and having deternuned upon a route, different from t'ae 
usual one, which was taketi by Gen. Jackson. It has been 
affirmed that I wrote to him expressing a wish to accom¬ 
pany him to the city of VVaslungtoii, and his silence vvtnild 
seejn to imply an acquiescence in the correctness of t!ie 
statement, if it were liotput forward on his suggession. I 
am quite sure that I did uot at that period write him a let- 
tea* of any description; hut if J did, I here express my en- 
ti!*c assent to tlic publication of that or any other letter ad¬ 
dressed to him by me. 1 do not believe I did, because F 
do not think tliat there was time, after I licard of his inten¬ 
tion to come by Lexirtgton, for a letter from me to reach 
Nashville, and an answei* to he returned befoi c it was re¬ 
quisite to commence the journey—a ptmctual attendance 
on my pai’t being necessary as the j)re3iding officer of the 
House. If such a letter had been (as most uiidcsigncdiy 
it might have been,) written, can any thitjg more strongly 
illustrate the spirit of hostility against me tlian the unwar¬ 
rantable inferences, which have been drawn from that as^ 
sufiied fact? When I left home in November 1 did not 
certainly know the electoral vote of a solitary state in the 
J r ion. Although 1 did not doubt the result of that in 
Kentucky, tlie returns had not come in, and the first au¬ 
thentic information which 1 received of the vote of any 
Suafe was of that of Ohio, which reached me on the Ka- ♦ 
nawha, (luring the ,p)urney, more tiian two hundred miles 
from iuy residence. 

Wiicthcr I Would be one of the three returned to the 
House of Representatives was not ascei taiued, until more 
than three weeks after I had reached Wasinngton. Is it 
not, then, most unreasonable to suppose, if i had written 
such a letter as lias been imagined, pro])osing that we 
sliould travel together, that I could have i;ad any *object 
connect! d with tlie presidential election? I reached Wash¬ 
ington several days beforeliim. Shortly after his arrival 
he called to see me, hut i was out, I l eturned the visit, con- 
si ieringit in both instances one of mere ceremony. 1 met 
wit.h him but rarely during that session, and al ways wiien 
1 (lid SCO him, in company. I sought no opportunities to 
meet him, for having my mind ucaiterably fixed in its re¬ 
solution not to vote for him, I wished to inspire him with 

"‘CS. 


30 


jio hopes from mo. 'iOie pi-osideritio] electiori neimr was u 
tooie, Li) wliich tlie most disuint eJiasion vvas mMoh* i)y me, 
iu aey conversation ivithhim, hut orxm, fmd tiiat Imppenod 
i'.t a dinr.cr f^iven hy (hellas^ian rvlioister, (he late Baron of 
'ihiyli, on tlie 24th December, 1824. 1 I’ccollect tl\c day, 

because it w;i3 the birt!) day of tlielate Bmperor Aloxandor. 
About thirty gentlcmc’' eomp<)sed (!m ():‘.rtv, and among 
tlu'rn, Mr Adams, Mr Calhoun, General Jackson, and I tb.i dc 
Mr Macon. Just before we {):tssed from the drawinir i^'to 
the dining room, a group cf some eight or ten gerifj ^neri 
were standing together, of whosn Gen .Jackson tied { uerc 
a j)art, a.nd Internal Improvements (I do' not recollect h./.v) 
became the subject of conversation. I obsf-rved to him, in 
the course of it, tiiat if he s'lould be elected President, 1 !> li¬ 
ed the cause would prosper under iiis administration. He 
made some general remarks, which I will not undertake to 
state, lest 1 should do him iiijustice. 

My pi incipal inducement to the puhiication of tliis ad¬ 
dress being to exliitit the testimony winch it embodies; it 
forms nopait of my purpose to comment on tlie statements 
which have been publisiied of Messrs. Biicliairan, Eaton, I- 
snars and Mai kiey, ail of tliem the friends of Gen Jackson,, 
on (he occasion of tile late election. Ncdther shall I notice 
the numerous (a.lsr!mods of anonymous writers and editors 
of newspapers with wldch the press has teemed to my preju¬ 
dice. Tlie^ task would be endless. To guard against any 
misrepresentatiorHliat miuht be placed on rny silence, in res¬ 
pect to a ii'tler from I\Ir Hai rison Muuday, which has hecw 
widely (i miated, and whiidi was published at a peAad 
L ■ oson to (Ifnct liie KentiH'ky election, I declare that whccp- 
er lifts letter be genuine or not, its statements are altogeth¬ 
er groundless. 1 : ever lie.d such a conversation with him 
as ih.at letter des('iibes, respecting Mr Adams, who, at the 
time when itisalh geLi to b.ave b.appciied, was abroad, and 
on whom at Um.t early period, tlierc had been certainly no 
g. uerai conversation in regard to Ifis election to the Pres-i- 
df-nr\'. J'lie appi i.itmenl which Mr. Markiey liolds, was 
ecid’eiied upon him in ('onsequence of the very strong re¬ 
commendations oi iiini, piincinaU) for a more important of- 
in e, fV. ni numerous higl.dy i cj-pteiahle persons of ail {‘arlies, 
in various j)ijrts of Penn?yh ania, from some of tlie Pennss l- 
vania deh'galion, among w hom .Mr. Buchanan took a warm 
an * zealous interest in his behalf, and from the sup.pdrt given 
to him by the Sect<‘tary of the Treasury to which depart- 
meiit the appointment belonged. 


31 


tv lien it was ascertained that I was not one of f^ie (h'rcd 
caiuiidatcs wiio were returned to llie House of Rrpiejten- 
laiives, 1 was rompeUed to vote, it’ I vo^ed at a!!, for onet of 
tliose actually returned. Tiie duty whicli tl:e people de¬ 
volved on me was painful and peiilou?, and lautiripaUd 
that it was impossible for me, whatever course i should take 
to escape censure. I confess that the uK'asure has trai.s- 
cended all expectation ifit be not unexampled. It has been 
seen tii.at my opinion was early and deliberated}’ formed, un¬ 
der cijcuaistanccs where no personal motive could have 
swayed me; that it was adhered to without deviation; and 
t at it was avowed again and again, not to one or two but 
many persons, not in obscurity, but standing high in the 
]) il)lic eslimalion and in my own. Not a particle of oppos- 
ii g testimony has been, or with truth can be, adduced. I 
li.ive indeed derived consolation from the rctlcction thfit, a- 
midst all the perturbation of t!ic times, no man has been}et 
f i d liardy enough to assert, that 1 ever signified a purpose 
oi voting for Gen. Jackson. It has lieen seen (hat, so far as 
I'.i.y a^t!Vances were made, tliey proceeded from the side of 
Gen Jm ksoiK After our meeting at Lelainon, ages migat 
h ve rollon aw; v, ahd, if we botli couticued to live, l iiever 
w aid tive souuiit the renewal of any in'ercourse uilU him. 
IVneit he came to the vSenate, and at the commenccnient of 
the next session of Congress, (lie system of operation decid d 
on, in res[)cct to my friends and me, was ;;aie of courtc us 
ium assiduous attention. From tliat the transition was to a 
SC' erne i.f iuiinddation, of which 3.1r Kremer's letter is only a, 
S'.iaii j. art of the evidence. Intimidation »;f a reprcscntaiiye 

of the jicople in the discharge of a soh^rn’i trust! Tiiu! is 
1 •' last d y ofthe R“puhilc on whicii su( li means shall bo 
e cc« s.'fully employed and publit ly sani tioned. Finding me 
ii 'fiiovatle liy fialLery or fear, the last rrsort has been o 
eras me by stead} and nnprf'cedenled calumny. WhetheT 
t i." tiaal aim shall he (rowiu^d with success oi not, depeiuls 
upon rhe ink lligence of the Amei ican pimple. I make no.. 
a]-p(uii to their .^} mpathy. I invoke only stern justice. 

Il truth has not lost its force, reason its swav, and (he 
fountains ( f jn>tice (heir (lurii v, tiie deci>i(>n mu-^t be auspi- 
eious. i lia firm reli.mce upcii the eidigutened judgmt.nt 
ot the public, and conscious of the zeal and upiiglitness 
with whicli 1 liave executed every trust committed to my 
care, 1 aw ait the event wilnont alarm or apprehension.— 
vVInitever it ma\ be, m\ ai.xious hoj.>es will contij.ue for tiie 
success of liie great cause of iiuman libert}, uad of those 


♦ 




Iiigh interests of national policy, to the promotion of whiVii 
the best exertions of iny liie have been faithiulij- dedicated. 
j\nd my humble, but earnest prayers will be unremitted tnat 
all danger may be averted from our common country; afid, 
especially, that our union, our liberty, and our institutions, 
may long survive, a cheering exception from the operation 
of that fatal decree, which the voice of all history has hitiier 
U> uniformly proclaimed. 

PI. CLAY. 

IAashington, December, 1827.- 



> 






(A) 

Ckillicothe, A% 18, 1827'. 

^ S7R: With respect to (.lie letter from Nashville, of the 8tb 
of Mhi'cIi last, originally published in the Favctleville Ob- 
Servej', to which you have done rne the honor to call my at- 
t(;ii(ion, in } our favor of the first of this month, I can only 
state, that, so far ns my knowledge extends, the assertion of 
the writer “tliat General Jackson told me, [him] this morrif* 
ing, before all his company^ in reply to a question I put to liim, 
concerning the election of John Q. Adams to the Presiden- 
Gy, that I\Jr. Clay’s friends made a proposition to his friends 
that if lliey wmuld promise for hinit not to put Mr Adams into 
the seat of Secretary of State, Clay and his friends would, 
in one hour, make him, Jackson, tlie President,*’ is totally 
deslituteof foundation. 

!t is well knowm that when it was ascertained that Mr. 
Clay would not be one of the three higliest persons voted 
for by the Electoral Colleges, for the ofdce of President, my 
next choice was fyJr. Crawford. Had it not been for the ili 
health of that gentleman, and the little prospect there was 
of his ultimate success, several of the Ohio Delegation, be¬ 
sides m\ self, w'ould have given him their support. And if 
is witt) regret, that I now sec his friends so much divided, 
and many of them uniting with a by whom be had been 
so ungenerously persecuted. 

h was evident to all that the election did then lie betw(‘eu 
Mr Adams and General Jackson. And, although so much 
has been said and written, in order to induce a belief that 
Mr. Clay had transferred and influenced his friends to vote 
for Mr Adams, the flict is that the Ohio Delegation, (or at 
legist a large majority of them.) were the first of Mr. Clay’s 
friends who came to the determination of voting for Mr Ad¬ 
ams, and that too without having ascertained Mr. Clay’s views 
on the subject. 

Ohio had interests at stake, which could not, under any 
cirrumstances, be abandoned or jeopardised. The course 
which General Jackson, and many of his friends in Congress, 
had pursued, with regard to internal improvements, and the 



S4 

Syill for tho revision of the Tariff; nnd, indeed, In relation io 
aim >st evt‘r} measure which we deemed of importance to 
tlie oountr}' gemer^dl)’, and more pariicularly to the Wes¬ 
tern Siates, ppt it out ofoar power to support the pretensions 
of fhe General, without, at the same time, abandoning vvhat 

conscientiously believed to be our duty. On the oilier 
hand, it was evident, that, for the support of those measures, 
our only reliance was upon the friends of Mr. Ada/ns, the 
identily of interest hetween the Nortliern and VVestern 
S: lies, and the liberality of the Eastern members of Cun- 
gr-ss 

\;iothcr, and still more serious consideration with us, was, 
tho qmditications of those gentlemen from whom, under the 
p-- 'Visions of the constituiion, a President was to be sclect- 
Q ‘ oy the House. 

So far ns I was acquainted with tlie sentiments of Mr. 
Ci iyV. friends, I do not believe that they could have been 
pr-vailed upon to have supported the election of General 
J ickson upon atiy conditions whatever, much less that of 
exfludingMr Adams from the appointment of Secretary of 
iState. 

The language held by some of the friends of the General, 
before the cdection, that the friends of Mr Clay durst not 
Vote for any man other than General Jackson. Tiiis was so 
often repeated, in a menacing manner, that it seemed that 
they already considered us chained to the car of the Genera!; 
ao i, ifvicv/ed in tliat degrading light, wliat inducement 
c -uid we liave had to ask, or to otfer conditions of any kind? 
But it is also true that others of the General’s friends used, 
what they no doubt conceived, more persuasive language. 
Indeed they appeared to be willing to make an.y promises 
wliich thev tiiought would induce the friends of Mr Clay to 
vote for Gen Jackson. 

I do not believe, however, that General Jackson ever 
made the statement attriinited to him, as such "^slang^' does 
not comport with the cliaracter of a soldier, or of a high 
minded honorable man. Nor do I believe, as 1 before stated, 
that any such proposition was ever made by tiie friends of 
Mr Clay to those of General Jackson, or tlnit propositions of 
any kind were ever made by them^ to any person, as a condi¬ 
tion, upon the compliance vvith which, their vote wms made 
to depend. Bnt, if the fact should be otherwise, lei the 
proof appear, and the names of tlm persons be published, so 
tl;^at the woiid may Know and judge how far they ought, of 


io ne roiisjtlored the friends of Mr Clay, or were au¬ 
thorized to make such a proposition. 

i iiave the honor to be, very respeclfuliy, your obedient 
servant, 

DUNCAN M\4RTHUR. 

Doctor T, JVotkins, 


Urhana^ July 1 ?/A, 1 827. 

Sir: On my n turn from a vi^it lo \V\>( P« jiiU I I'oui.d 
you! tavt»r ot ih(' 6sh <d May, and with great cheeriuhn sg 
at t wt'r tho qiiesiiitii tiieieiii propounded. 

You (isk me, as one of tiie friends of Mr Clay, that vot< d 
for Mr Adams, if I knew of any [)r<q)o^iiion being made (o 
General J:n ks(ui, or bis friends, l>> Mr Cday or Ins friends, 
tiiat if tse, J.tcki'Oi), would not appoint Mr Adi.m> Set reia- 
r\ of Sta{< , that we, t! e Jiiends of Mr Clav, would support 
liim for the Presideiuy. i sa), without hesitation, tliat I 
never iieard of those or any other feims bein^ tlnoght <T, 
as an equivalent for the vote we were about to give, nor do 
1 b» lievc that the fn* tids of Mr Clay, or Mr C lay himself, 

er nought of making or suggesting any ternjs to anv one 
oi the parties, as llse grounds of our areefdance orrejet ti; n 
of either of the three candidates returned to the Hr.u-e of 
Representatives. A> one of the original friends of Mr Clay', 
I was in the habit of free and u.ueserved conversations, In (h 
with him and his otiier friends, relative to that clef tion, and 
I am hold to say that 1 never heard a ivhisper of any tliii g 
like a condition on whicfi our vote was to be given, mention¬ 
ed either by Mr Clay liimseJf, or any of his friends, at any 
time, or uiMer any ciri urnstances. That the friends of Mr 
Clay, w hile the election w'as pending before the H^a.se, 
were treated with great kindne ss and courtesy , by the friends 
ot the otlier candidates, is cerlaiidy true, and that we were 
strongly importuned to siippoi t the ir respective favorites, is 
equally true; bu; 1 can say with truth, and I say it with great 
pleasure, that 1 never heard a proposition from the friend or 
friends of eitiier of the candidates, or from any other per* 
son, directed either to the ambition or avarice of those having 
a voice in the election, calculated or intended to swerve them 
from a conscientious discharge of their duty. Nor do I be¬ 
lieve It was the opinion of any well informed man, in the 
House of Representatives, until it was seized hold of by tho 
Combination, as the best and mdy mea .s to ruin Mr Clay. 

I am, with great lespcci,yuurobedie . servant, 

Horit T» Watkim* JObbPH YANCE,' 



Lancaster^ Mai/ 21, 1827. 

©EAR Sin: Absence from home, is lue reason v*. ijj i iiavri 
ifioi, before tiiis, answered your letter, upon the subject of 
the letter said to have been written by a ‘‘highly respectable 
A irginian.” 

i do not know that a friend^ or the friends of Mr Clay, 
ever made any projiosition to the hi ends of General Jack- 
son, respecting the election of Mr Adams, as President, in 
any way; or as respecting General Jackson “not putting Mr 
Adams into the scat of Secretary of State,*’ in case he^ 
Jackson, should be elected President. 

Neither am 1 acquainted witii a hiend of Mr Clay’s that 
would consent to be an agent in such a dt'grading transac¬ 
tion. 

Nor can I admit that the friends of Mr Clay had so con¬ 
temptible an opinion of cacli othei',or of Mr Clay, as to sup¬ 
pose tiiat the appointment or non-appoinlmenl ol an) man to 
any office would iniluence them in tiie discharge of an irn.^ 
portant public duiy. 

Mr Clay, .and his friends, preferred Mr Adams to General 
Jackson, merely because they believed he, in a more eminent 
degree, possessed the (jualilications necessary to the able 
perftirmance of the high duties assigned by the Constitution 
and Laws to the. President of the United States. 

1 am, dear Sir, with great respect, your obedient servant 

P. Bi:.ECiiLll. 

Doctor Tobias IVaikins^ Washington, 

Wooster,, Miy 9, 1827. 

Dear Sir: Your favor of tlie 1st instant has been receiv¬ 
ed. ♦ nad provionsiy noticed tile letter said to have been 
W'rilten by a ^"highly respectable Firginian,"’ to wb.ic'n it refers. 
In answer to your inquiries, I liave to state, that I have al¬ 
ways supposed myself in the entire cortlidence of all Mr 
Cl.iy’s supporters and friends, wlio were members of Con- 
g: ess at tlie time of the Presidential election, and that I 
h.;ve no liesilalion in saying tliat I never heard the mostdis- 
t- t iosinuafion from any of them that they would vote for 
G'Uieral J.ickson, if there was any prospect of choosing ei¬ 
ther .jf the other candidates. That any of the friends of 
Mr Clay, in Congress, ever made any proposition of condi¬ 
tions on winch their votes would depend, to the frieuds of 
General Jackson, or any other person, 1 do not believe. Had 
General Jackson been chosen, they would have felt no con¬ 
cern as to who he might have appoiutea menibers of his 



37 


cabinet; and, as to Mr Clay’s nccopiiag an nppoiidniCJii ur 
dcT him, iIr'v would, to (i imin, luive most ocriaiidy opposed 
it. J jii Ige of this from ilic opinion which I know they en¬ 
tertained of General Jackson’s want of capacity, and (ho 
fact that it was not until some time afkt'r liie choice of Mr 
Adams tlnit they agreed to .advise Mr Clay to accept of the 
office he now holds, Ilis acccjdancc lias always been regard¬ 
ed by them as a favor done to the country, and not as one 
Conferred upon him. 

If the disposition of General Jackson could have been 
judged of by the importunity of some of his Congressional 
friends, 1 should have sujiposcd that a proposition of the kiiid 
mentioned, would have been instantly closed with; but. no 
such propositions were ever made by the friends of Mr Clay, 
and nonesuch would have iiecn accepted by them. 

la short, I feed contident lliat the wliole is .a vile and infa- 
m6us filschood, such as honorable men would not resoii to, 
more especially .after having, upon full consultation aou de¬ 
liberate consideration, declined an investigation of the 
whole matter before a committee of the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, 

I am, Sir, very respectfullv, your obedient servant, 

J. SLOANE. 

Hon, Tobias Watkins, 


SlcubenviUe^ Qth May,, 1827. 

Dear Sir: Yours of the 1st current, stating that General 
Jackson is reported to liave said, at his t.ablc, “in (he pre¬ 
sence of all his company,” “that Mr Clay’s friends rna<le a 
proposition to liis friends, that if they would proinise/br him 
not to put Mr Adams into the.seat of .Secretary of St.'»!e, 
C’iay and his friends would, in one hour,, make him, J.acks.).!, 
the President,’* &c. &c. and asking me to inform you whefJi- 
er I know, or believe, that such a proposition was everm . ie? 
Or, wliether conditions of any sort were proposed by ihe 
friends of Mr Clay to any person, on a compliance w'itli 
which their vote was made to depend? 

in reply, lican only say, sincerely and unequivocally, that I 
do not know or believe that any proposition of tlie kind men¬ 
tioned, as from General Jackson, was ever ir.ade ( • Mie 
friends of General Jackson, by the friends of Mr Cbiv, or 
any of them; and that I am whplly ignorant of any cotiiiiii-. is, 
of any sort, being proposed to any one, by the friends Vlr 
Clov, on a compliance with which their votes was made to 
depend* 

D 


■ V. 


■\ 





38 


Allow me to observe, in addition, that the vote of the Ohit) 
Deh'^alion was determined upon \}y consuitation among Us 
jnembors, so flar as I knmv or believe, uithont any stipula- 
lion or agreement willi the Delegation of any other State, or 
individual, as to what that vote sliould be. To my know- 
edge, no influence whatever, other than the convictions of 
Seach member, after a candid and eerious examination into 
the fitness and qualifications of the three candidates before 
the House, for the office of Ciiief Magistrate, and an ardent 
desire properly to discharge the imporlant duty devolved up¬ 
on them by the Constitution, according to its spirit, operated 
to control the vote of any one of Mr Clay’s friends, or liim- 
-seif. In great haste, sinccrelv yours, 

T* Watkins, Esgr. *' J. C. WRIGHT. 

Gallipolis^ {Ohio^ J\hy 27, 1827. 
Dear Sir: On returning home, to-day, from a short j<air- 
3ney,l liad the pleasure of receiving your letter of the fust 
instant, addressed to me,concerning the publication of a let¬ 
ter, that first appeared in the “Fayeltevilie Observer,” said 
to have been written by ‘^a highly respecta!)lc Virginian,” 
contriining a statement, in substance to this efl’ect—that Gen¬ 
eral Jackson, in answer to a question put to him by the wri¬ 
ter, in presence of liis, General Jackson’s rompanv, said that 
Mr Clay’s friends made a proposition to Ids friends, tliat if 
tbt^y would piomise ffir him, Jackson, not to make Mr Adams 
his Secretary of State, that Clay and his friends would make 
him President at the then apjiroaching election by Congress. 
You request me to favor you with a statement concerning 
my knowledge of this matter. Having been one of llie 
friends of Mr Clay, who voted for Mr Adams, I cheerfully 
avail myself of this opportunity to say that 1 have no know¬ 
ledge whatever of the above mentioned proposition, or any 
other proposition having been made to General Jackson, or 
any of liis friends, by Mr Clay, or any of his friends, as a 
condition upon which his or their vote was to be given to 
/Genera! J'lckson for the Presidency. 

it may not, perhaps, be amiss to add, in relation to myself, 
that though I hold tlie public services of General Jackson in 
tlie highest estimation, it waswi'll known to my constituents, 
for many m(Hiths previous to the late Presidential election, 
that after Mr Cla^, Mr Adams was my next choice, among the 
distinguished individuals who were then before the people of 
the United States, as candidates for that exalted station. 

I am, very respectfulh , yours, &c. 

T. Watkins, %r. SAMUEL F. VINTON. 



^9 

Piqun^ Ohio* 18/fi .,1/r/jy, 18:27. 

"Dear Sir: Yours of the 1st iustiuil caine to lumd b) the 
Jasl mail, aiid in complianrc^ willi yo\ir request I will atisv.’er 
the interrogatories you j)r<'pom d, I bad, {uior to the rc- 
eeplion of your letter, read tlie puhriealion to vvbiehyou al- 
dude, said to have been written by “a bigldy ivspectable Vir¬ 
ginian,” and dated at Nashville, the Slh of Mnich last, which 
hrst appeared, 1 believe, in the FayetteviHe Observer, and 
subsequently in several otiiCr papeis, in which the writer, af¬ 
ter having jnenti<-iH'd his vi.dl to General Jackson, thus pro^ 
ccjLids: ‘’fie, (General Jacksou,) told roc this morning, 1 )q- 
foro ail his conqjJiny, in rerdy to a question I put to him, 
concerning the election of John Quincy Adams to the Pre¬ 
sidency, that Mr Clay’s friends nnadc a proposition to his 
frifujdsthat it they would promise, for him^ not to put Mr 
Adams into the seat of Secretary of State, Clay and Ifn? 
friends would, one hour^ make him, Jackson, the President, 
lie most indigniantly rejected the proposition, and declared 
lie would not eompromit himself, and unless v(\Qsi openly find 
fairly made the President he would not receive it. lie de¬ 
clared that he said to them he would sec the whole earth 
sink under lum, before he vvould bargain or intrigue for it.” 

You ask me to inform you whether 1 know or believe, that 
sum a proposition wnis ever made, or whether conditions of 
any sort were made by the fi lends of Mr Clay, to any per¬ 
son, on a compliance of whici? liieir vote was made to de¬ 
pend? I answer that no such proposition w’as ever made, 
within my knowledge, nor have I any cause to believe that 
conditions, of any sort, were made, at- any time, l)y the 
friends of Mr Clay to any person, on a compliance with 
which their vote was made to depend. I will further say, 
I cannot believe tiiat General Jackson made the declarations 
attributed to him, in the letter purporting to have been writ¬ 
ten by a‘^highly lespectahle Virginian.” 

1 am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

VVM. McLEANA 

T, Watkins, Esq. Washington City. 

Canfield, Trumbull County, Ohio, May 12 , 1827 . 

Dear Sir: Your favor of the 1st was received this morn¬ 
ing. In atisw'er to your enquiries, I reply, that I do not 
know or believe that any proposition w'as ever made by any 
of Mr Clay’s friends to those of General Jacksoivs, on the. 
mnrrfmg of the Presidential election, or at any other lime, 
having anj bearing on the candidate to be selected from the 



ihi>;o ivt-;!! ncd io llic ITonro, nor do I kiiow or believe thrtt 
anv aondiiioiis of any sort were proposed by 1 !h- Iriciids of 
Mr CbiV 1,0 anv ;)C5aa)n, on a eofnpiinnre with wiucli their 
lalc was innuclo depend; !)ut 1 do believe (hat liie asscrlioM 
made i'v Oenerni Jaei^son, as rerfoi ted by hij^'ldy respect¬ 
able rii;ip.ian,’' ;u'd ah of (lie ciiargo (>1 a iii.e charaedery 
■nDUiiiU; Cither to r^lr Adams Oi' to x/ir Ohiv, onto Ihcir 
iViend:'; any imp.repcr, ineonsislciit, corront, or fi-audulent 
vondt:rt,on tiiit inteicstitu^ find monicatotis occaisiun, are 
base slfindciis. ’mown to be such, in’ those wdio put them in 
virculatiom 3 C't very honestly accia.’dhi.'d by rnmr/ wo^'.ihy 
citizens. My intercourse whii t:ie filends of Mj' vJlay wfis 
.lUch tin’ll, had any propofili«m been nnidc by (hern, i sliouid 
have becri verv likedv (o have kfiowm it. No man was ever 

V 

(.•Icvoied lo an onicc by \ie\vs more pure atid nfitriotir linan 
\v;is air Adfims. Tlic assenion iaipulcd (oCcuoral .lackr'O'i 
13 iidiculoits on tl'.o face of i(. Atlniittiuf; that^Mr Clay and 
t)\i i';icr':d.s were oscillatir.fw pm ions to t!ie cluiiges made 
;!'>aii»st iMr Clav- of which Mr Krrmcr fiflerunard^ fissuamd 

O •y ' 

to be the autl'sor, those charf!;es nsust itave scparfited (.heiTi 
fr.vm Genei’.al Jackson and his friends: as between -Mr 

^Xdams ;'iKl Gen.erai Jfickson, Jteilher iMr Clay nor his frimids 
c’oul^tcd for a moment whom to support, find if it h;id been 
knowri ori tliC day tiiot Cont{ress met thfit ?vir Clav would not 
I'O returned, and the vote Inid then been tfiken, (eousidering 
Mr Crawforers illness.) liio result would hfivf' been the same 
;is wljcn tb,c election was held. If Mr Clay’s friends wore 
h:iHinc( bel'-.vccn two oplnioriS, on tlic moi L'dni^ of tb.o cdeclion, 
liow' happens it t'ne diarg-cs of fraud, coiruptioti, barirfiin, 
uc.d sale, were made tcii d<i)»oi’ a for-tfiight before thfst time? 
if General Jackson hfis any evidence in his possession to suf.' 
ttain liis declaration, why docs he withiioid it from the public I 

Very re^ticctfully, vom-s, 

^e: WHITTLESEY. 

T. JVatkins^ Esq<r 


J^IaiirfidiL 0. May 24f/V, 1827. 

127.411 Sin: Your favor of the Snd instaJif. was just re- 
rciv( <1, giving a stalcmfuit of tl)o coutenls of a lettei* said 
to havc’beeu written by a Idghly respectable Virginian, 
relative to a statement said to have been made by General 
Jackson, on (he subject of the late Presidential idlection. 

Pi fore I pi’ocded, in justice to the Gcnci'al, I will say 
tb,- i do notbclicNe that he ever made ihe dcfdaration al¬ 
luded to by the writer of said letter, for the General was 



4i 


there wlien the Klection took plane, ainl loiist inevitably 
have known that such a statement would carry falsehood 
on the very face of it. It was well known that some of 
the friends of Mr. Clay, from Oiiio, would not, in any e- 
vent, give their support to Genera! Ja kson, because Mr 
Adams was their sect>nd choice, and believed to he the se¬ 
cond clioice of a majority of the people of this State; and 
further, General Jackson must know that two weeks pre¬ 
vious to t~he elei'tioM, Mr Clay and his friends were as¬ 
sailed in a vulgar and ungcntlemaiily manner, for declar¬ 
ing their intention to vote for the present lixeciitive; yet 
this proposition is said to have been made to the friends 
of General Jarkson, that on certain cotiditions, ‘’the Gen¬ 
eral shouhl be President in one hotir,’^ which, if true, 
must have been made only one hour before tl)c Canvass 
took pla> e in tlie House. IJiis statement of itself needs 
Ilf) refutation except for the respectable source from whicit 
it is said to have emanated. I was in the fpvuse, I helieve^^ 
every day of that Session at which the. President was c- 
Iccted; and havt‘, no iicsitation in saying, that so far from 
making any proposition, or overture, were the friends of 
Mr Clay, in favor of the General, that had the friends of 
the General made such a pr<»po«ition, we would have con* 
sivered it as an indignity olfered to our ititegrity atnl un* 
derstanding. 1 could not have voted for the General, in 
any event, for many reasons—two of which I will men- 
titm; Fii'st, I believe him to be far inferior to all the other 
Candidates in point of talents: Second, I had doubted his 
being a real friend to the I'aritFto protect the inamifac- 
tures of our own country. I will also mention that Iliad 
entertained doubts of his being friemlly to internal ini' 
provements under the direction of tiic General Govern¬ 
ment. These opinions have been, w’itliin the present year, 
verified by declarations, and the coui^e pursued by the 
General’s lead mg.friends, and his silence on the subject^ 
alter being solicited to come out. 

I atn, dear ?5ir, with respect^ your obedient servant, 

M. BAHPi.h.V 

T. JVatkinSi Esqr, 


St, Coins’oilU^ Maij 1C:27. 

Sir: Yours of the 1st instant was received the 7th, and 
in answer to your inquiry I frankly stale to you (hal if a- 
iiy such prop<»sition as you state, was made by the friends 
•of Clay to those of General Jack.sun, I liad no knowledge. 



of if: ar>f1 1 one of the friends of Clay. I (hf‘refur6 
believe the r(‘j)f>rt to be without an honest foundation. 

Besppctfully yours. 

T. Bitkins, Esqr. JOHN PATTERSON. 

•Monntsferling, August 12, 1827. 

Sill: I have been constanriy from home some weeks 
pest, arid Iiave not had leisure until this mornini^ to an¬ 
swer yourlefter. requesting ine to state what I know aiid 
believe about therhar.^es iniidc against Mr Clay and Mr 
Adams, by General Jackson and his fjnends. 

Tije lettci* you refer to, dated -Vasliville, and said to he 
first publislicd in the “Fayettevilie Observei*,’’ was read by 
me some time since, in some of my newspapers, and 
thrown aside, f have searched for it, bnt cannot find it. 
Tl>e letter—General Jackson to Carter Bevcrlv, dated 
Heinnitagc, June 6th, 1827, is before me, and 1 shall re¬ 
fer to it in my reply to you, under a belief that it contains 
tiic substance of the accusations made by Beverly in his 
Nashville letter, / 

I do not know of my own knowledge, nor have I been 
informed by others, that ofiVrs, piopositsons, or overtures, 
such as are spoken of by General Jackson in bis letter to 
Be> criy, or similar thereto, or of any kind whatever, were 
ymde by Mr Adams or his friends to Mr Clay or his 
friends; or by Mr Clay or ids friends, to General Jackson 
or his friends, I do not kno»v, nordol believe that Mr 
Adams or his friends made overtures or offers, directly or 
indirectly, to Mr Clay or his friends to make him Secre¬ 
tary of State, if lie and liis friends would unite in aid of 
tise electiofi (d* Mr Adamsq nor (lo 1 know, or h( Iie\c, that 
a y pledge or promise of any kind, was made by Mr Ad- 
or ills friends, to Mr Clay or Ids friends, to procure 
his aid in tlte election, 

i never h( ard from Mr Clay, or any of his friends, or 
aviy one else, that he was willing to vote fur General Jack- 
sof), if die (general would say, or any of his friends for 
iMiu, tlwit Mr Adams sinmld not be continued Setretary of 
fe ate; nor do 1 know or believe that Mr Clay ever expres- 
'Sed a wiiiijigness,' oi* any of his friends foi* him, to sup¬ 
port or vote for General Jackson, if he couid obtain the 
ollii'c of Secretary of State under him. 

1 do not know', nor do I believe, that any overtures, or 
offers of anv kind, were made by Mr Clay or his friends, 
tro Mr Adams or liis friends, to vote fur him or support bim^ 



4^ 


if lie would make Ml* Day Se refary of Sfafe; or to Cxeu- 
enil Jaekson or his friends, o vote for him or support 
liitii, if he could obtain the ofh e’ of Secretary of Si ate 
under him; nor do 1 believe t uar Mr Clay would have ta¬ 
ken office under him if iie had been elected. 

I cannot believe ihe stateme t made to General Jacksol]^^ 
nor do I believe that Mr Clay aiadc, or authorized any of 
his fi'iends to make, overtures to him, direcfly or iiidirect- 
ly, because [ know. tliat Mr Clay intended to v(»fe against 
him. 1 know Mr Clay* had iUtermined to vote foi* Me 
Adairis as early as October I82’4,if the election should de¬ 
volve upon tlie House of Representatives in Congress, 
with his ow n name excluded from the list. In this I cmi- 
iiot be mistaken, because he told me so expressly. He 
may have foi-gotti»n what he saiil to me, but the sub^taiice 
of tlie .convei'Haii<tn is fresh in memory with myself, aud I 
I will endeavor to detail such portions of it, as willcvi '"o 
his prepossessions in favor of Mr Adams, as well as his fixed 
intention to vtUefor him. 

% I\lr Adams, vve all know, was elerfcd on the 9th of Feb¬ 
ruary, 18^5. The prevailing o’pinion, you will recollect, 
as early as January 1824, if not earlier, was, that none of 
the caiididates would obtain a majority of the whole num¬ 
ber of eliM'forai votes, (2t)l.)rind it was expectea a^. a 
inatier of course, that the evcnlCul election would devolve 
iiijon tin* House of Re])reseiitatives. 'Che friends of i>Ir 
Clay belicAed ' hat he would go befoi c tiiO House as one <,f 
lift* ill tee iiigiiest on the fist of candidates; but this was 
not certain, and on the contrary It was reasonable to skjj- 
pfisc-that he might fail. In looking forward to a failure 
on liis part, and to the possible events and consequonces 
wiiii'h might fnllow;, I was frequently brought to consitFr 
wliicb of tlie other ( amlidates ought to be pi’er#rred a> a 
Chief Magistrate of tlie nation. It is eiiough to say, witlo. t 
d>yelling upon matters concerning myself, that I concluded 
as earlv as Feb; uary 1824, to vote for Mr Adams as a se¬ 
cond choice in tin* event <»f Mr Clay’s exclusion from the 
House; subject at ail times to a change of opinion for suck 
reasons as ought to influence the judg nent of a public a- 
gent, desirous of dischaiging hi^ public trusts faithfully 
and lionestiy; and intending at the pro cr season to consult 
fully and freely vvitli the rest of my colleagues; holding 
jnyself at liberty all along to corsiiiei-the claims of Mr 
Crawford, if his hea'ili should he resforred, wliich, howev- 
er> i lliuught impi obabie^ if not impobsible, itso happerb- 


44 


ed. that the honorable Robert Trimble, then a JikIg;© of 
the Federal Court for the District of Kentucky, and now 
one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United 
Slates, came to the City of Washin.^ton, in the month of 
February 1824, and I well remember tiiat I converged 
with him freely upon the subject of the election, i inf r li¬ 
ed him of my prel’erence for Mr Adams as a second choice, 
and explained to him the principles and views of policy 
which would govern me in making the selection. 1 gave 
him my opinion of Mr Adams as a statesman, and proba¬ 
bly went so far as to mention some of my objections to 
General Jackson. The recollertions of Judge Trimble 
on tlie subject have been asked for, and if received in time 
shall be enclosed, 

M) preference to Mr Adams was strengtliencd by the 
occurrences of the session emling in M;iy 1824. It was 
manifest to me from w hat I saw and heard, tliat the bitter¬ 
ness of opposition to measures in favor of agriculture, in- 
teioial improvements, and ilomestic manulactures had in¬ 
creased. and was increasing in the South, and I was satis¬ 
fied that the American System of jiolicy, including our 
AVestern interests in it, could not be sustained in Con¬ 
gress, without' the co-operation of members in favor of 
the System from the Eas.tcrn States, as well as from tlie 
Middle and Western States, 1 concluded, nnd eighth too 
I think, as time will sim'v, that tln^ best, if not tlie only 
W'ay to ensure the success of the American Sy.stem, and 
sustain our Western interests in it, woiuld be to elect Mr 
Adams, if Mr Clay sliooid be defeated. 

In thisstate of mind I met with Mr. Clay at Frankfort, 
in Kentucky, about the lirst of Getober, 1824. It wa- my 
imjKcssion at the. lime, from (lie news of the day, a.jd 
otiier source.s of information, that Mr. Crawford would 
get some sixty or seventy electoral votes, and that Mr. 
Clay would be left out of the House. We conversed for 
some time about the election; and in the course of con¬ 
versation, after speaking freelv to him about bis own 
chances and prospects, I asked liim whicirof the other 
candidates he w »uld vote for in the event of a failure on 
Ills jiart: He said, that the event sujiposed would jitace 
him in a delicate a4iUide before the House and nation; 
that a ciioicc among bis competitors under any aspect «>f 
it, would be painful and euib.arrassiiig: That from re( lU 
iiifor’mation, the rcslo!*atioii of Mr ran ford’ In ahb o s 
entirely hopeless, and that he could not consitleutij wiik 


1/iA principles vote for Gen, Jackson nnilei* any possible 
(.'irruinslanccs. 1 j 2 ;ave it as iny ojiiniim, that Geneial 
Jackson was not qualified to fill the slalion and discliar^o 
its multifarious and complicated duties, foreign and do¬ 
mestic: To this he agreed, and added, that the' impartial 
world would probably consider Mr. Adams better qualili- 
cd than either Jackson, Ccanford, or himself: That atall 
events, (Crawford aside,) the difiVrence in point of qual¬ 
ification was so clear and obvious in favor of Mr. Ad i:ns, 
I’oat his iiiol Ives might be questioned by impartial men, 
if he should vote fiir Jackson; and tliat lie would be nua- 
ble to defend t!ie vote, because in hi-s own judgment it 
Avould afford just ground of censure. 

He made several objections to General Jackson, and 
tu tlic course of his remarks, ex[)rcssed himself decidedly 
Injstiic to tlie selection'of military men to administer the 
civil gover inent of free nations. ISo nation, hesaid, liad 
ever done it with impunity: The warnings of history 
Wx''et‘ against i!: lie considered it a had example, and a 
dangei'otis experiment, and declared that he would not 
give it the ^anction of a precedent in our government by 
an^ a('t of his. ilc turned the conversation to the Semi¬ 
nole war. am! to the occurrences connected with it —re¬ 
ferred partir niarlv to t '.e (’ouslitufional principles which 
were brought forward and supported by himseit and Mi*. 
Lowndes and others in.the course of the deliar<* upon tiiat 
subject, and declared that con d not conseir. to place 
Genera! Jackson a( the head of the nation, after seeing 
liiiii tramjile upon the tJonstitution, and violate the rights 
oi humunity, as lie had done at the head of the army, in 
lh(^ progress of that war. 

i made some reference to the siiu>posed difference of oj)in- 
ion between himself and Mr Adams about the Treaty of 
Ghent. He said in reply, that it had been greatly mag¬ 
nified by the friends of iiis competitors for electioneering 
purposes—that it ought to liavc no influence in the vote 
whicli he might be called upon to give—that if he was 
weak enough to allow his personal feelings to influence 
Ills public conduct, there would be no change in his mind 
on tliat account, because he was then upon much worse 
terms witli General Jackson ahourit the Seminole war, 
than he could ever be with Mr. Adams about the Freaty 
of Ghent—but that in the selection of a Chief Magistrate 
for the union, he would endeavor to disregard all private 
feelings, and look entirely to tlie inteiesis of the country^ 
and the safety of its iustitutioiis. 


Hp spotvf* af larg^e up m llie‘<ubj(^ct of agTjruifure« 
trrnal im])i'ov(*or'i»ts. ao<! douiosHr invinurnciiires— 
tiiat he was pleflj^ed to the tialion io sup])ort of the A- 
loerif ao system of policy, aod of all iiK^asuees favoraidc 
to it—ll»nt his own electi oi had been advocated by his 
iVietjds in pas t upon tliat .ground, and that he would con¬ 
sider it a duty to liim.self ant! friends to strengthen the 
gt eat cause in which they were all engaged, as much a» 
possible. lu this i-espect he was satisfied, he said, that 
Adams was the !)e‘<t choice, and that if there wa^ no 
other ground of pr eference, he would feel himself bound 
on that account to vote for him. 

I do not rem ember whether I informed Mr. Tlay of my 
own preference for Mr. '\dams at tiiat time or not, but 
am inclined to think I did not, and I am satisfied that I 
had not done so on any [irevious occasion. It U known to 
me, that Mr, Clay had a 'imilar conveisation abo it the 
same period, with a citizen of Kentucky—who stand.^f 
as liigh as any man in it—to whom he made known his in* 
tention to vote for Mr. Adams, and gave various reasons 
why he wcmld do so, declaring at the same time, tiiat ho 
Would not \ ote fc r Gen, Jackson in any p<!ssibie event. The 
reasons given by him to the gentleman al’uded to, so far 
as they have been detailed to me, are similar to those 
which he assigned to me in favor of Ids preference for^ 
Adams. 1 am not authorized to name flie [lerson alluded 
to, hut have no doubt that he would willingly furnish a 
statement of the conversation which Mr. Clay held witli 
him, if it should be con ddered necessary or material 

I should liavc tbought strange of it. if Mi\ Clay hud 
voted for General Jaekson after saying what he did of 
military men, and ndliiary violence and rashness, in tlie 
debate upon the Seminole war; and still more strange af¬ 
ter declaring—as he has often done in my hearing—in the 
most solemn manner, tiiat the Constilntion had been 
trampled down and violated by the lawless arm of milita¬ 
ry power in that war; and stranger still, after advancing 
the opinions and principles, and giving the votes v\iii !i lie 
did on tiiat occasion; hut, 1 shoiild have been asi^ n'•ned 
beyond measure if he had supported Genreal Jackson for 
the Presidency, after w hat he said to me at Frankfort on 
the subject. A vote, so much at war with Ids principles 
and inclinations, and sa entirely contrary to his better 
judgment, and his knowm avowed inteirions would have 
left ate in amaj^emeiUj and 1 am bold to say, that I should 


4? 


e turUt'd my bach upon iiimarul voted for Adeni«, evesi, 
it i had been in a iijin<uify of the deligatiou IVova t.bo 
S ale. \ Ml\, that 1 would t»ave turned my bai k up¬ 
on him. aiKi 1 wuidd c» iPtaiuly have done so, bei ause, 
ki ow it q w hat i did, I should liave been compelled to 
ttie inkof his chaiarter, and the soundness of 
his polilii al |.i'ineipies. IJ he had rofed for Jachr^on nvd 
tokcit office under him, my amaz^anevt would hux'C hud no 
hmiis. A rha>tp;e of pi'inciples and {)i'efert iK'e so sudden 
a* singular, and so inconsistent witij his previous char- 
a( ter and eondie t, could not have been explained u])on the 
orditKirv aj proveahle motives of liinnHU action; and I 
should liave b i n di*i\en to suspect tiie existence of extra- 
oi tiinary scdiu einents, and censurable compliaMces. Vot- 
irig*a- he has done, I still consider him—as I always diil^ 
an able, iiniependcnt, fearless statesman; uncorrnpted, 
and incoirnp^able. 

1 amsa i-lied iji my own mind, that the imputations of 
corruption made a.4j;ainst Mr. ( lay and Mr, Adams by 
tin ir ciieinies, arc entirely groundless. Speaking for my^ 
self, 1 am bound to say in justice to both of them, that I 
have no knowledge of any fact or circumstance connect- 
e«l v>itli tliem, or eiilier ot them, directly oi* indirectly, 
w !ii( h throw s a ?«hafle of doubt upon the fairness of their 
conduct in the eleidion. 

Some days after the election, Mr. Adams made an offer 
of the Department of State to Mr. Clay, and requested 
o <oinferi e with Itim. 1 he course pui^'Ued by Mr. Clay 
from that lime urstil he coneIndetl to accept the office, tbr- 
bi<l the belief that he liad any previous assurances from 
r. Adams, or that there was any previous understandit»g 
between them on tiie subject. 

V\ itii assui antes of l egord, I am. Sir, yours very re- 
speitfulJy, DAVID IRIMBLE. 

Tobias Watkins Esq, 


Paris,, (Ken,) August 13, 1827. 

D EAR Sir: In conserpieuce ot my absein e fiM.Mu borne, 
I did not receive your let-er of the 81b July, until after 
my return from the Court at Columbus, Ohio, on Monday 
evening, the Qth iiist. 

You request me to state the sub.'^tance of a conversation 
■which took place between us at the City of Washington, 
in February oi March, 1824, after having visited Mr 
Craw fort! I .gethcr, in relation to the thea next rrcsiden'« 
4iai election. 



48 


TliC occasion lias passed over in which a state,nenf of 
that C'lnvechaUon would have been of anv dii ei t scio ire to 
you; yet, as tt maybe some sarisfaction to you to kni»\v 
w hat my recollection is of the conversation alluded to, I 
will state it. 

liile inlhe City, in February and IMarrh, 18C4. I vis¬ 
ited Mr. Crawford several times. I recollect, perfectly, 
that on one occasion, you and 1 went toi^etber to pay Irini a 
visit of rfespect, as we both entertained for him a very biixh 
rci^ard. In goini^ to, and returnirijjj from Mr Crawford’s 
we conversed freely about his beallh, and on the subject of 
the ajiproaching Presiileritial election; and I have a dis¬ 
tinct recollection of what jiassed, after leavina; him, on our 
way to our lodgings, at Brown’s. Yor asked me w hat t 
thought of Mi^ Crawford’s health, and of (he probability of 
its restoration, so as to enable him to discliargo the duties 
of President. 1 answered, that iny opinion was derisive¬ 
ly against the probability of his rceovery, so as to be able 
to undergo the labors, and dischai'ge (he duties of the of- 
c; and that I thought bis restoiation so as to justify his 
election, might be considered hopeless. I atlded my (’on- 
virtion tliat he could not recover, and that his life would 
be endangpied, until be (piit his present ollire, and left the 
city with all iis cares and troubles behind liim. You ex¬ 
pressed your entire concui'ience; and remarked, that you 
had wished to know whether my (h liberate vhnvs of liis 
condition correspimded with those you had jireviously 
formed. The conversation turned upon the probability of 
the election of President coming, ultimately, before House 
of bepresentatives. 'Ve coururred in ojiioion, that, from 
the uumber of randidates. it was improliabic any one would 
liavea majority of the Tdectoral n otes; and that if Mr 
C l awford’s friends continued to entertain hopes of his re- 
coNoiy . and to press his claims to tlie Presidency, it was 
dnubtful whether be. or Mr. Clay would be left out of the 
iJeusc. You exjircssed the opinion that, (Clay aside,) Mr. 
Milams was the safest an<l best choice, and that the friends 
of agrirultuiT, internal improvements, and domestic man¬ 
ufactures, ouglit to unite upon him in the event of .Mr Clay’s 
exclusion from the House. You remarked, that you had 
once entertained some prejudices against Mr Adams as a 
staresman, hut that the more you had seen of him as a 
statesman the more y«>u l ad hem ronxiinn d. these prepos- 
se‘^sions v\ere not well founded. You allmled to the tariff 
bill of 1824, then under discussion in Congress^ express- 


ed yoiii' (Icfof’minatioii to support it as a system of protre* 
tion to domestic, imiuufacturcs; and said, it'^oii should luive 
to vote, as a member ot* t!ie House of Jleprescntatives \n 
the election of President, you would vote for the man wlio, 
and whose friends you should think most favorable to 
what you called the xlmcrican System. Yon said that Mr 
Clay luid been tiie great champion of that system; that if 
we lost him, ymi thought Mr Adams and his frieiids, next 
most favorable, ti) it; t!»at you could not, and would not 
vote for any manv\ho, and whose friends, you believed to 
be, united in opposition to it; that some «)f Mr. x^daois’ 
friends were, opposed to it, but many of them in favor of it, 
and that you believed his opinions were favorable to the 
system. I remarked, that it was, perhaps, too early to 
make up a dec isive o{)ini()n, in the event of the election 
coming into the House of Representatives;—that the views 
of men, and of parties, in reference to these great natio/ial 
interests of agi icultui e. internal improvements, and do¬ 
mestic manul'actures, wcodf pi'obahly be further develop¬ 
ed before the electioj). You unsW'ered, true; but that you 
Iiad thought much upon the system for their encourage- 
nient and protection; that y<ui bad made up your opinion 
upon if; and you added, emphaticaHy, ‘‘My creed is fixed 
as to the principles which must inll»iencc my decision.’’ 

Ill other ronversatious with meat the City, 1 understood 
you as indicating similar views; but in the. particular con¬ 
versation above detailed, you were more explicit than in 
any otlier; and the very emphaiic manner in w hich you 
Com luded your rem \rks, made a strong and lasting im¬ 
pression on my memory, and satisfied me, that in the. e- 
vents contemplated, you would vote for Mr. xidams, unless 
something should transpire before the election, to change 
your opinion of biin^ in reference to your favorite system. 

With sentiments of sincere regard, your obedient servant, 

iiORiiUT I RlMiiHl!:. 

J/r. David Trimhle, 

Bowlin!^ Green, 23d May, 1827. 

D EAR Sir*. Yours of the 2d instant is received, in vvhick 
you call my attenrion to the extract of a letter, said to be 
written by “a highly respectable Virginian,” dated Nash¬ 
ville, 8th of March last, and which you recite as follows: 
“He.} General Jackson,] told me this morning, before all 
his company, in reply to a question I put to him, roucern- 
ing the election of J. Q. Auams to ihe Fresklency, that 


ISIr ^la>^s friends tnade a proposition to his niends, that 
Jf \\oiikl proniisc./or/iim, 7wt (o put Mr Adams into 
tlie seat of Secretary of State, Clay and his friends would 
in one hour 9 make hiiiif Jackson, tlie President. lie most 
indignantly rejected tlie proposition, and declared he 
\vonld not comprornit himself, and unless most cpenlif and 
Jairly made the President, he would jiot receive it. ile <le* 
claied that he said to them, he would see the earth sink 
under him, before he would bargain (?r intrigue for it.’^ 

Previous to the receipt of yours, I iiad observed this ex¬ 
tract in the papers. I \ieweditas a sheer fabrication, 
another instance of the out pourings of that disajipoiutcd 
ambition,prejudice, and envious maligi»ity, which have 
been so bountifully bestowed on Mr Cla)' and some of his 
friends, for the last two years and a half^ and such it 
seemed to me it ought to have been esteemed, so Jong as 
it rested alone on the authority of an anonymous writer. 
For several reasons 1 do not ti»ink we ought to give cre¬ 
dence to Genera] JaeksoiPs having made such a statement, 
without good proof of the fact. Viewing (he publication 
in the light I liave mentioned, I had in)t supposed atiy no¬ 
tice of it could be called for or expected. 

1 have no hesitation, however, in answering your inqui¬ 
ries. After reciting tlie above extract, you say to mo, “If 
^such a proposition were ever made by the friends of Mr 
Clay to those of General Jackson, it must havc*^bccn known 
to many j)erso»is, and the fact, therefore, may be. ascer¬ 
tained. May 1 ask the favor of you to inform me wlielli- 
er you know or believe any sue b proposition was ever 
made? Or w hether conditions, of any sort, were made by 
tlie friends of ^.’r. Clay to any person, on a compliance 
with which their vote was made to depend?” 

To tlie first lirancb of the inquiry, tn> answer is, that I 
have no knowledge of any such proposition, nor do 1 be¬ 
lieve any Slid) was ever made. 

To the second I answ er, that I neilher know of, nor do 
I believe, that any “conditions, of any sort, were made by 
the friends of Mr Clay to any person, on compliance with 
which tlieir vote was to depend.” 

Very respectfully, your humble servant, 

Fll. JOHNSON. 

T. WaUiinSf Esq. 

Mason County, Ky. 1 ^th June^ 1 SSr. 

OjRAR Sir: Your letter of the 2nd of May last, address^ 


eri to me- at Carlisle, in this Srate, haviiii^ beeii diily 
reived by my family,an<! handed lo me on my retiiim homo 
a few days a^o from the State of Mississippi. I hasten to 
give yon the itiformation required. As to the letter which 
is said to have been written by “a liigidy respectable Vir¬ 
ginian,” dated at Nashville, on the 8th day of last iVIarr'.li, 
which first appeared in tlie Fayetteville Observer, stating 
that he, the writer, had hc<Mi told tliat morning by the 
General, before all hh company, tiiat a proposition had 
been made by the friends of Mr. Clay to the friends of 
Jackson, that if they would promise/or A/ui nof to put Mr 
Adams in the Seat of Secretary of State, Clay and his 
friends would in one/lOM?* make him, Jackson. President, 
iVc.” I have to state, that f never heard or thought of 
sufdi a proposition, until the letter of the'•highly respecta¬ 
ble Virginian” appeared in the Public prints. Some 
time before the Presidential vote was given in the ilousc of 
Representatives, I well remember to Imve lieard it stated 
by some one, that in the event of the election of General 
Jackson. Mr. Adams would most jirohably be withdrawn 
from tlie National Cabinet, and made Governor of Mas¬ 
sachusetts; that it was not likely that he would accept an 
appointment under the General if offered to him. 
thcr before nor since that election, have I interchanged a 
word with Mr. Adams respecting it, Put my opinion at 
that time was that if not elected, he would retire from tlie 
Cabinet, as a matter of c/mice; and not oi necessity. As 
one of the friends of Mr Clay, I enter tlie most solemn pro¬ 
test against the right of the General, through his organ, 
the “liiglily respectable Virginian,” or otlierwise, to say 
that I would have assisted in makitig him President on the 
conditions stated. On the contrary , if I could have been 
made to believe that General Jackson would not have of¬ 
fered to Mr Adams, the jilace which lie liad filled witii so 
much ability under Mr Monroe, that belief wouldliave con-- 
stitated in my mind a strong additional objection to the 
GeneraPs success^ 1 should then liavc taken it for gran¬ 
ted, that it was the intention of the General to suiToutid 
himself with that class or party of politicians with whom 
he had in a great degree become identified and between 
whom’and myself there existed such a radical (liffcrenro 
of opinion in relation to the great leading quesliorj of na¬ 
tional policy. I allude to the army, the anti-tariff and 
anti internal improvement parties. If it is intended to i;n- 
pose the belief that Mr Claifsfriends were desirous of ob- 


{:nimng tliat appointment for hinu to the excltisioH of XyTr. 
A<lifms or otherwise, under Gen. Jiickson, as one of his 
friends, 1 projtounee it a base and infamous assault upon 
the motives and honor, so far as I am concerned or be- 
lie\e, of those who did not choose to support Iiim for the 
I’residency. 

In reply to your second impiii'y, T have to say that, if 
ojnditions of any sort were ever made by the friends of 
>ir. Clay to any per’son, on a couipliance with which their 
•vote was made to depend, 1 knew notiiing of it. Believ- 
that Mr. Clay would not have accepted an appoint¬ 
ment under the General. I am at a loss to conjecture 
where, or from whom the autlsority for n»aking sucli pro- 
3 )ositions could have been derived. JButifany individual, 
calling himself the friend of Mr. Clay, did make propo¬ 
sals of such a cliaracter, why 'not name the man, and let 
him state to the public by w hat authority he made them? 
With great respect, I am, dear sir, vour obedient servant, 
THOMAS MKTCALFE. 

T. JiatJnns, Esqr, 4th And. Trca. Department, 


Lanevsier, ICy. ^6th June, 1S27, 

D EAR Sir: Yours of the 2d May, did not reach me un- 
j'il a day or two ago. You inquire whether 1 know any 
tliing in relation to the following gtatement, said to have 
been made by “a highly respectable Virginian:” ‘‘He, 
General Jackson, told me this morning, before all his 
corrjj)any, in rej)ly to aqnestion 1 put to him, concerning 
the clecUon of J. Q. Adams to the Presidency, that Mr. 
Clay’s fi ieiids made a proposition to his friends, that if 
they would promise for him, not to put Mr Adams into the 
seat of Secretary of Siate, Clay and his friends would, iti 
one hour, make him, Jackson, the President.” 

1 know of no such proposition or intimation, nor have 
1 a kjmwledge of any fact or circumstance which would in¬ 
duce me to believe Mr Clay’s friends, or any one of them, 
ever made such a proposition to the friends of General 
Jatkiion. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

R. P. LETCHER. 

JFatkins, Esq. 

Greensburgh, Kip May 26, 1827. 
Hear SiH: Having been absent from ln)me, for some 
time, yours of the 2d of this month w as not received uni I? 




a day or two since. You mention a letter, said to liave 
bt'fcii wi'itieu by *‘a lii^bly respectable Virginian,’’ dated at 
JSasiiville, 8th,of March last, which first appeared in the 
Fayette Observer, in which General Jackson is represen¬ 
ted as having said, before all his company, in reply to a 
question put to Iiiin by the Virginian, concerning the elec¬ 
tion ofj. Q. Adams to the Presidency, that Mr Cla}*s 
friends made a proposition to his feiends, that if they 
would promise,/or him, not to put Mr Adams into the seat 
oi t!ie Secretary of State, Clay and his friends would, in 
one hour, make him, Jackson the President.” 

In answer to your inquiries on this subject, I will re¬ 
mark, that 1 Inive no reason to believe that any such pro¬ 
position was made. Indeed no proposition, of any des¬ 
cription, relating to the election President was made, so 
fai as 1 know or believe, by Mr Clav’s friends to those of 
General Jackson, or of any other person. 

With great respect, your obedient servant, 

RlCHAiiD A. BCCKNER. 

T-. Watkins, Esq* 


Yellozv Banks, 19M June, 1827. 

Dear Sir: I did not answer your letter of the 2nd May 
last, find the apology 1 otier I expected Gen. Jackson would 
have contradicte > the report of the conversation he had with 
the ^h'espectahle VirginiarW or that he would have designated 
tne friend of Mr Clay who made the proposition to make him 
President, if he would not make Mr Adams Secretary. 

ii 1 Had not liave been disappointed in my expectations,an 
answer iVom me would liave been unnecessary. 

General Jackson remains silent, and llie only inference to 
be drawn is tiiat he did liave the conversation alluded to with 
tile Virginian. 

1 now answer your inquiry, and say 1 know of no proposi¬ 
tion made by the friends of Mr Clay to the friends of Gener¬ 
al Jackson to make him President if he would not select Mr 
Aurims to the seat of Secretary, and 1 do not believe a pre- 
j)Osiiiou of any kind was made, and i expect if the friend of 
t'tc General should ever speak on this subject, he will be a 
second Kremer. 

Yours, with respect, 

T. Watkins, Esq. P. THOMPSON. 

Baton Rouge, July 17, 1827. 

Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of the l&i oi iViaA',ift 

F2 





which you inquire xvhether J know or iielieve that tlie friends 
of Mr Clr.y during the pendency of (he last Presidential E- 
lertion, proposed to the friends of General Jackson to make 
him the President upon condition that he would not contin¬ 
ue Mr Adams Secretary of State, I reply, that I have no 
knowledge of any propositions liaviiig been made by the 
friends of Mi Clay, or any of them, to the friends of Genera 
al Jackson, or to any other person, in relation to the election 
of President; or the proposition of conditions of any sort,on 
a compliance with which their vote was made to depend; T 
believe the charge wholly destitute of truth. 

J am, very respectfully, your obeident servant, 

H. H. GURLEY. 

Doctor T, Watkins. 


St. Martinsville^ Altathapas^ La. Ath Junc^ 1827. 

Dear Sir: I had seen the letter you alluded to in the Pub¬ 
lic Prints before I received yours of the 1st May. 1 cannot 
express the indignant feelings it excited. It is the fabrica¬ 
tion of a desperate man, who, to obtain his object, dares to 
assert what he knows to be false. You ask me to say, wheth¬ 
er I “know or believe that such a proposition was ever made, 
or w'hether conditions of any sort were proposed by the 
friends of Mr Clay to any one, on the compliance of w hicii 
their vote w as made to depend.” No honorable man can be;* 
li» ve for a moment that such a proposition was ever made, or 
such a condition stipulated. I was a friend of Mr Clay’s 
throughout the contest; I vras* in the confidence of all his 
friends, and I declare to God that I never heard of such thing,, 
until it was asserted by tlie disappointed adherents of Gen¬ 
eral Jackson. 1 am not only ignorant of any such arrange¬ 
ments, but do not believe they ever existed. I know full 
well, that at the time the charge was made by General Jack- 
sou or his friends, that no person with wliom I conversed be- 
lirved Mr Clay had acted improperly, except the adherents 
of General Jackson, who, f shall always believe, felt angry 
at Mr Clay and his friends for having too much firmness in 
the first inslance to-be acted upon by their violence; and in 
the second instance, too nuich integrity and love of Countr}" 
to Vicld to a faction headed by Military Chief, without tal¬ 
ents, and whose life is a history of immorality, bloodshed, 
and violation of the laws of God and of his Country. T well 
recollect that the high-minded and honorable friends of Mr 
Crawford, amongst wliom 1 name the Hon. Mr Forsyth of 
Georgia, the Hon. Mr Stevenson of Virginia, the Hon. Mr 



55 


Williams, Saunders, Edwards of North Carolina, and otheCs 
whom I could name, and amongst them the Hon. Sam. Smith 
of Maryland, in frequent conversations with me, repelled 
such charges, as the effusions of disappointed men, and ap¬ 
proved of the choice made by the friends of Mr Clay, in pre¬ 
ference to Gen Jackson. 1 regret now to see these gentle¬ 
men, dll except Mr Williams, acting against their then opin¬ 
ions. I regret it the more, for 1 entertain for each of them 
the higiiest esteem, nor can I believe that they will persist in 
a course which will end in their support of General Jackson, 
I am not astonished at their opposing the Administration, as 
it is friendly to ^•Internal Improvements and Domestic Man¬ 
ufactures,” but I can never believe they w ill give a prefer¬ 
ence to a man like Genera! Jackson over our present Chief 
Magistrate. 

I think the friends of Mr Clay ought to contradict the* 
base unfounded charge: as one, I am determined that su(‘h' 
an accusation shall not rest upon me. If General Jackson 
does not establish his assertion, (which he cannot,) he ought 
to stand forth to the world, as a proven base calumniator, as 
unworthy of public or private contidence, and avoided by 
every man who has a respect for virtue and for honor. 

Your obedient servant, 

WM- BRENT. 

P. S. You may use this letter as you think proper. I shall 
be at Washington about 15l!i July, when 1 will see you.- 

■ “ I 

St, * Genevieve,, Missouri, Augiist 1 

Dear Sir: I saw some time since, in the Ihihlic Prints, a 
letter said lo have been w'Htten from Nashville, by a highly 
respef table Virginian, detailing a conversation held by him 
with General Jackson in relation to the last Presidential E- 
ledion. I tiave since seen and perused a letter of Geiif ial 
Jackson himself to Mr Carter Beverly, of the 6th of Jure, 
on the same subject. I was one of the open and avowi d 
friends of Mr Clay, in the last Presidential contest, and held 
one of the twenty-four votes on that important occasion. So 
far. therefore, as I am implicated in the communication of 
the Virginian, and the letter of General Jackson, 1 deem it 
my duty to make the following statement, and place it in lae 
hands of some gentleman at the seat of Government to be 
used at discretion. 

1. Neither Mr Adams, nor his friends ever made any jiro- 
mises or overtures to me, nor did they hold out to me any 
inducements of any sort, kind, or character whatever, to 





be' 

procure me to vote for Mr Adams. Nor did Mr Adams, or 
aay of his fiiends, ever suj or insinuate wlio would he placed 
at the head of the Department of Siate, or any oilier De¬ 
partment, in the event that Mr Adams should he ( lecf* d; 
nor do I believe any propositions were made to Mr Ch»y or 
his friends by Mr Adams or his friends; if there were 1 know 
it not. 

2. I was frequently with Mr Crawford, but he never hint¬ 
ed at the Presidential Election. 'Phe friends of M* Craw¬ 
ford, including Thomas H. Benton, T. W. Cobb, J‘sso B. 
Thomas, Lewis McLane, Mr Van Baren, and others, did 
press me to vote for Mr Crawford, which, (having I-si Mr 
Clciy,)I readily admit, I was inclined to do had ids health 
been good, and would my vote have availed him. 'Phey ur¬ 
ged, however, no reasons other than the promotion of virtue, 
talents, and integrity ; nor did I understand his friends as 
acting by the authority or consent of MrCiawford. 

3. The friends of General Jackson, (including Tliomas 
n. Bentou,after he had abandoned Mr Crawford,^) did urge 
me in the most impetuous manner to vote for General Jack- 
son, but I did not understand them as doing so by llie advice 
or consent of General Jackson, though they frequently said 
he would do great things for the West if elected, that he 
wiis a man of strong gratitude, and would go the whole for 
his friends and against his enemies. 

4. I never exchanged one syllable with General Jackson 
in person on lliC snl jei tof the Piesidcntial Election, neitlier 
before or after the election, I never niade to General Jack- 
son, or to any of ins friends, any proposition in reference to 
the Presidential Eiectioiu eithe r as regarded the appoint¬ 
ment of Ml Clay, or any oilier person, to office, or t e cxelu- 
sion of Mr Adams, or any other person from office. 1 was 
never spoken to by ISli Clay*or any of his friends about ma¬ 
king any prsiposition to General Jackson or his friends of any 
ki d whatsoever; nor did J ever hear it insinuated or liinled 
that any proposition was made or intended to be made by 
Mr Clay, or his friends, tt; General Jackson or his iriends, 
or to any other candirate or their friends, for or relating t6 
llie Presidency; and 1 do believe had any proj.'osition been 
made, or intended to have been made by Mr Clay, or his 
friends, from my intimacy and constant intercourse with 
them, I should have known or heard there- f. 

5. 1 never consulted or advised with any one how I should 
Vote, except with (he t\v<> Senators frorij my own Stati-, and 
with Mr Clay whose advice 1 voluntarily solicited. The an- 


awer of Mr Glay to me when I requested his opinion and ad¬ 
vice was siibslanliaiiy this: That I personally knew all the 
Candidates well, that he would give no opinion that mighti 
go to the prejudice of any Candidate, or operate to influence 
any Elector; that all he would say was that I ought not to be 
hasty and commit myself, but w'ait till tlie last moment for 
advices from my State, to the Legislature of which, then in 
session^ I had applied for information on the subiect of the, 
Election. 

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient 
servant, JOHN SCOTT. 

Doctor 7*. Watkins^ Esq. 


(B.) 

Frankfort^ Sepiemher Srd, 1827. 

My Dear Sir: T have received your letter of the 23rd of 
duly last, and cannot hesitate to give you the statement you 
have requested. 

Some time in the fall of 1824, conversing upon the subject 
of [the] then pending presidential election, and speaking in 
reference to your ext lusion from the contest, and to your 
being called upon to decide and vote between the other 
candidates who might he returned to the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, you declared that you could not, or that it was 
impossible for you to vote for General Jackson, in any event. 
Such, I think, was nearly the language used by you, and, I 
am satisfied, contains the substance of what you said. My 
impression is, that this conversation took place at Captain 
Weisiger’s tavern, in this town, not very long before you 
went on to Congress, in the fall preceding the last presiden¬ 
tial election; and that the declaration naade by you, as above 
stated, was elicited by some intimation that fell from me, of 
my preference for General Jackson over all the other candi¬ 
dates except yourself. It was one of the many casual con¬ 
versations we had together upon the subject of that elec¬ 
tion, and various olher subjects, and had entirely escaped 
from my mind, until my attention was particularly recalled 
to it after the election. 

I will only add, sir, that I have casually learned from my 
friend, Colonel James Davidson, our State Treasurer, (what 
you may probably have forgotten,) that you conversed with 
him about the same time upon the same subject, and made to 
him, in substance, the same declaration that you did to me. 

Notwithstanding the reluctance I feel at having my hum¬ 
ble name drawn before the public, I could not, in justicie^ 



refuse to ^ive you the hbove statement of facts, with pei-} 
mission to use it as you may thi.uk proper for the purpose ©f 
jour own vindication. 

1 have the honor to be, yours, &c, 

J. J. CRITTENDEN. 
Hon. II. Clay, Secretary of State. 


Frankfortf QOih October^ 1827. 

SiK: Durini^ a visit you made to this j)Iace, in the faU 
of 1824, atu), ( think, only a few days prior to yt»ur le^v- 
Kentucky to attend the Congress of the United States, 
you and myself were in coriversation about the then pe ol- 
ing presidential election; in the course of which 1 remark¬ 
ed, “Mr. Clay, you will have to encounte^ some diffi; ulty 
in making a selection amongst the candidates, should you 
be ex< iuded from the House.’’ You replied, “1 supposo 
not much, in that event, I will endeavor to do itiy duty 
faithudl^.” I then obsei ved, know you have objections 
4o General Jackson, and rumor says, you have some to Mr 
Adams, also—and the health of Mr Crawford is said to be 
•vet7 precarious: tiiese are the reasons wliich induced me 
to suppose there would be some difficulty. You in reply, 
remarked, “E cannot conceive of any event tbai can possi¬ 
bly happen, which could induce me to support ttie election 
of General Jackson to the presidency: bor, if 1 had no oth¬ 
er objection, his want of the*, necessary (pialihcations would 
be sufficient.” Your remarks made a strong and lasting 
impression on my mind; and, when the resolutions, in¬ 
structing our Senators, and requesting our Representa¬ 
tives, in Congi’ess, to vote for Gen. Jacksun, were under 
discussion in tlie House of Representatives, I informed se¬ 
veral of my friends, that I had had a conversii:im w ith 
you on the subject to which the resolutioj-s referr; d, and 
that 1 was convinced you would not support the General; 
and to George Robertson, Esq. late Speaker of the ^touse 
of Representatives of the State, 1 gave the viffi t .t: e f 
your remarks to me, and he concun ed with me in tiie . ^ 

ion that you could not, consistently, under arsy rir» j» t- 
atances, vote for the General; and when the resolutions, 
above mentioned, were before the Senate, (in which 1 then 
bad the honor of a seat,) I opposed them, and amongst 
other views 1 then to«)k. I sratod to tliat body, ’‘that all 
the resolutioiis we could pass diuing the whuie sessions 



.■1 


59 

^yoiiUl not induce you to abandon wbaf yoir co!>f'eivecT to be 
your duty, and Thai I knew you could not concur with the 
niajorily ot the legi>')alure on that subject. 

\onrs respectlully. 

Jx\M1lS DAVIDSON. 

Ji. Clay, Esq* 

Washington, JS^ovcmher 17, 1827. 

Dear Sir.* In answer 1«> youi letter ol the 26tb, 1 liave 
no hesitation to stale the purport of the several conversa¬ 
tions that 1 had with }ou in relation to the Presidential 
election durinj; the session of 1824-5. 

I met you. for the first time on your return to' Washing¬ 
ton, in December i 824. on the Saturday or Sunday even¬ 
ing previous to the meeting of Congress, and at that time 
we had a lojig and free conversation on the approaciiing 
election. 1 said to you, it was still uncertain vvhetiier you 
or Mr Crawford would be returned to the House of Ke- 
presen atives, but, from the information I had, I believed 
that you would receive the vote of Louisiana, and be re¬ 
turned as the third candidate. 

I expressed to }on some solicitudeabout the election, and 
tl>e hope that w e should pass quieity through if; 1 said that 
1 apjirehended a protracted struggle; that wiiile three can¬ 
didates remained before the House, it would he difficult for 
either to obtain a majority. That the exc itement vvhicli 
the contest netnrally produced would daily increase, tliat 
the parties would b<‘Come obstinate, that the people might 
be dissatisfied, and that some agitation might he produced. 
That for the character, as w ell as the tranquility of the 
country, it was desirable that we should pass through it 
safely.—You replied, that you would not permit the coun¬ 
try tvi be disturbed a day on your account, that you w^mld 
not allow your name to interfere with the prompt decision 
of I lie question by the-House. I said, if it becomes neses- 
sary f he country has a right to expeci, and will expect that 
of you. 

You informed me you had seen Mr Crawford, that you 
had been shocked with his appearance, that notwiihstand- 
ing ail you liad heard, you had no idea of his actual con¬ 
dition. And, after expressing the sympathy which his 
nnHl'ortunes excited, you said he was incapable of perform¬ 
ing the duties of the Exec* five, and i; was out of the ques¬ 
tion to think of making li*m Ihesident. 

I remarked to you^ that in ail probaoiiity, the contest 


\ 



^0 

would be finaHy reduced to Mr. Adams and Gen. Jackson, 
and the conversation turned upon their comparative merit 
iUid qu ilideations, and a lung discussion -ensued; you drew 
a parallel between liiem, in a manner I thought very just 
and respectful to both. You concluded by expressing sl 
preference for Pdr. Adamsj winch turned principally on 
his talents and experience in civil affairs. I alluded to 
your critical position between the two parties, and ti»e 
great personal responsibility iinderv/hich you would act.—* 
You said it was true, but it could not be avoided, it was a 
a duty imposed by your situation, that you would meet it 
as any other public duty. 

i intimated to you, that in the present stage, it would 
be improper to make known your sentiments, that there 
were strong motives for your not taking an active part in 
the contest, I suggested the relation in which you stood 
to the House, to tlic parlies, and to the country, and said 
that great influence would-be attributed to your opinion, 
that all parties would look to your course with interest, 
and tliat you would act under great responsibility. I 
tiiougbt there was no necessity for increasing the diflicul- 
iy of your situation, by taking a part in the election, and 
tlmt it would be better to let it lake its coui*se. lleft you 
under the impression that you concurred in these views. 

I saw you again on the return of the votes from LouiS' 
iana, by which it’vvas ascertained tiiat you were excluded 
from tiie House. 1 then took the liberty of repeating to 
you all tliat I had before said in regard to the course you 
o!'ght to pursue. I urged the consideration of your being 
ti;i'presiding officer of the House, where new questions 
iniglit a? ise during the election, and such other reflections 
a- occurred to me. You said you were a vare of the daii« 
g» r, as well as the delicacy of your position, and that 
you would leave your friends perfectly at liberty to excr- 
er e their own judgments, I will add that no instance 
came witliin my knowledge in which you deviated from 
this course. My opinion was. and still is, that y ou beha¬ 
ved with the greatest propriety, in the situation in which 
you were placed. 

1 conversed with you in a walk to the Capitol on the 
instructions of the Legislature of Kentucky. You still 
expressed your determination to vote for Mr. Adams. 
You said the Legislature had no right to direct you in the 
discharge of your duly; that you had received no instruc¬ 
tions to vote for General Jackson from your own district^ 


that tho instructions and letters you had received, directed 
you t(» pay no atteiUiosi to the lei^islative instructions, but 
fo act upon your own judgment and do the best tor the 
country. You said you were not only tree to choose, but 
you were urulcr a great personai responsibility. That you 
would acquit yourself in the discharge of this duty, by ma¬ 
king the best cijoicc under ail' circumstances, 'i’bat you 
believed Mr. Adams v^as the ablest and safest man, ami 
you would act under tliat conviction. 

1 called on you on tiiC morning of the publication of 
your card. You said that I would now see that the deli¬ 
cacy you bi\^ observed bad procuicd no respect or for¬ 
bearance towards yon; you sjioke with some indignation at 
the means wliicb had beer> emplo}cd, as well as the mo¬ 
tives of those by whom you were assailed. You spoke of 
anonymous letters full of abuse and mcnance, letters writ¬ 
ten at VViisiii/igton, to be published at ditferent places, and 
of tile letter wtiidi bad bt en noticed in your card, &c. I 
observed, you must expect ail this,—Yoti must have fore¬ 
seen tiiat at some time the storm would burst on your 
head,—You must prepare to meet it firmly, and bear it 
patiently. A public man must rely upon the weight of 
his cliaracter, and the justice of bis country, and I added 
that I still believed the course you had puisued in the e- 
lection the most correct, lou said you sliould continue as 
you bad done to disregard newspapei- and anonymous a* 
busc, but Ibis paper was published on the authority of a 
liien.bci* of the House of liepresentatives, and therefore de¬ 
served to be met openly. 

lit referring to the terms of this letter, you observed 
that you did not know Hiat you would be offered a place 
in any administration, nor did you know who would com¬ 
pose the cabinet of eitlier Candidate. That you could not 
be the member of any cabinet that wjould require you to 
advocate principles different from those you bad always 
iniiintained before the Public, and for the support of which 
your public cliaracter was pledged. 

On the lender of tiie office of Secretary of State, you 
consulted with me on the acceptance or refusal of the of- 
lice. You stated all the reasons private and public, for 
and against the acceptance, and asked my opinion. I said 
it was an occasion in which you ought to consult freely 
your fiieiids and act by their advice. My own opinion is, 
you must accept; in the situation in which you have bpei% 
placed by circumstances you have no choice^—and 1 sug 

F 


some reasons of a public nature why you ought to 
be a member «»f the C’abinet. 

After your nomination was confirmed, you informed me 
that you had requested Gen Han ison to move for a Coni- 
inittce in liic Seriate, if any thing orcuri’ed to make it nc- 
ccssar*y. 1 replied tlrat 1 did not think any thing iiad oc¬ 
curred to require a Committee on your pait. 

The foregoingis the purport of scvei’al conversations; I 
cannot pretend to preserve the language, hut it is a true 
and faithful statement of tite substance of your opinions 
and views so far as they wes-e known to me. 

I avail myself of the occasion, althougli not called for 
by your letter, to state that 1 had occasional commnnica- 
tions \>i(h you and several of your (fiends in which the 
conversation was free and unr eserved. 

That no fact ever came to my knowledge, that could 
in the sligh'est degree justify the chai»ge wirich has been 
exhibited. On the contrai }, I know that your opitrioii did 
not undergo any chartge fiauii the time 1 first saw you on 
your return to Washington. | have reason to believe (hat 
any silence and reseiwe which you observed during the 
contest, was dictated by a sentiment of delicacy to tlie 
Candidates, and by a sense of self respect, as well as of 
duty to the olhre you held in the Bouse. 

1 will add that dining the present summer, ! met with 
two Gentlemen in the State of Mississipjii, who vrduntari- 
ly told me that they heard you exjrress your decided pre» 
fereiice of Mr. Adams at Lexingion> before you left home 
fov Washington. 

\\ ith great regard, your obedient servant, 

J. S. JOHNSTON. 


Trashingtonf December iSer. 

Deah Sir: fn answer to your asteemed favor of the 7tU 
inst lequesting me to state any recollection that I may 
liave of a convei sation which took place at your lodgings, 
concerning the election of President of the United States, I 
can say^ 8 distinitly recollect that on the 20th December, 
1824, which was the day (»f my arrival here from the State 
of Louisiana to take my seat in the Senate of the United 
States, 1 called on you the same evenitrg, and in the course 
of a com ersation, 15'w.hii Ir I i'rformed you that you Irad 
Fost the votes of Louisiana, i desired to know, who you ic' 



hMided to vote t‘or as l*rcsidput, yntj then (old me, without 
any hesitation, tluit you would vote for Mr Adams in pro' 
I’erence to Gen Jackson. 

With great respect, yours respertrully, 

I). UOULIGNY. 

fl^ashington, ^lugiist 14th, 18?7.- 
I certify that in the early part of the session ol‘Congress 
24-5, 1 dined at the Columbian C(dlege with General La- 
layette, Mr Clay and others—on returning from thatdin- 
ncr to town, Mr Clay and myself (there being no other 
person with us) catne. in the same liack. D*j» ing the ride 
our conversation turned on tlie tl>en depending presiden¬ 
tial election. 1 expressed myself, in the event of ti)e coji - 
test being narrowed down to Mr. Adams and General 
Jackson, in favour of Mr. Adams; atid Mr Clay ex[nes8-’ 
ed a coincidence of opinion. 

JAMES BARBOUR, 


La Grm}ge, Oct. 10, 1827. 

Mi D EATi Sir: Having accidently omitted the last op¬ 
portunity to answer your most valued favor, August lOtij, 
1 avail myself of the next packet to oiler my aftectionate 
thanks, and request, as much as the pressure of business 
alhnvs it, the very Idgli gratification of your correspon- 
dencc. 

Your diplomatic acctjunts from Europe leave little to 
say; and, although a member of that House, by courtesy, 
called Representative, I am not the wiser nor shall I be. 
the more useful f(;r it. Ads olution of the House is 
spoken of-i^the ministry arc i ccording the new electoral 
lists in consequence of a late bill mingling the vote of elec¬ 
tion with the duties of juror, to wliich, however, some ad- 
d tions have been made. As the public mind is progress¬ 
ing, and several wilful errors have been forcibly rectified 
a lihci*a! opposition cannot fail to be more numerous: The 
question with government is—whether they will tliis year 
meet a larger minority, with a seven years new lease, or 
hereafter risk to have a majority against them, or at least 
a stronger opposition than that to which, in case of disso¬ 
lution, tliey must now submit. 

The account of the funerals of Manuel liaving been in¬ 
dicted before an inferior tribunal, ami our .speeches on his 
tomb making a part of the impearluncut of the publisliers, 
it became the duty of Mon. Lafittc, , and myself to 




alaim oiip sliare ifi the trial, whk'Ft we could not obtai^j? 
but a judi^mcut of the Court, very projFerJy and liberally 
Worded, has acquitted the selected objects of the accusa"- 
tion. An appeal from that decision to the Superior Court, 
lias, it is said, taken place. 

The intervention of three great Powers in the affairs of 
Greece seem to promise a respite, although it has not pre 
vented the arrival of an Egyptian fleet and a body of soldiers. 
There is, liowcver, some good in the notification made by 
Ihc Fi'cnch and Engiish- Admirals impeding further progress. 
The mediation lues been accepted by the Greeks. The Ot¬ 
toman Porte Idthcrlo refuses it. So far, they oblige tlie 
mediators to commit tliemselves a little more, and if they 
arc sincere, t)ie Porte must 3 ield at last. It is obvious to 
every look-er on that th,03e^[)0\ver5 are jealous of liberty, of 
complete emanc:[)alion, and jealous ofcncli otlier. If anj- 
]>ody can pla}- thediflicult gfune, it must t)C Capodisiria, who 
is now on iiistlnrd station, that of Pari -, before he proceeds 
to t.he Piesidentia! Chair. He iinlles in his person an ex¬ 
clusive coincidence of happy circumstances. After he has 
managed those discordant elements, tliere will he other dis- 
coKianccs to he managed at iiome, for which he also seems 
to he the proper and exciusive tnan. Upon the w'hole, th.c 
e?^istcnce ol'Gieece is rjithcr more secured than it has been 
of late. 

1 have received a letter from our Aiend Poinsctt.and can¬ 
not l>nt cd^serve with him the general and especial attempts 
that liave been lately directed against tiiC peace, harmoii}', 
mul instiliFlions of the Rcpuldiran States of South America 
and Mexico. It is very nalural to se(‘ the Republican Min¬ 
ister of North America, hut to tiiose monarchical af'.d aris- 
tocratica! factions. That tiie irnputatiitn is given Acrn Ifu- 
rope, is not, 5 tlfink. to he queslioi ed ; lait I have received 
with-^leep regret the part of your letter aliuding to a man 
wliose glory, great Inients, arni hit herln experienced patriot¬ 
ism i iiave deiiglited to clierish. Sev<u’al painful infonna- 
lioi.‘S had reached me, which allogeiher. and many more be- 
stdes, could not u-eigii so much witii me as your-own sense 
of t!:e matter, i i)eg you to continue to writ(‘ on the sub¬ 
ject, and on every matter relative to public concerns, to rnv 
fricicE, ami pruticnlarly to } ou wdio know my oh), gjaleful 
and sincere affection. 

Blessed as [ h ive latcl v been wdth the welconi'', and con- 
sciuus, as it is mv happy lot to he, of tiienflection o><:\ conti- 
dence of all parlies, and all men in every party, witnin the 


United States, feelings .which I most cordially reciprocate, I 
ever liave thought myself houini to avoid tnkingany part in 
local ar personal divisions. Indeed, if I thouglit that in 
t'lese,matters my influence could be of any avail, it should 
he solely exerted to deprecate, not by far, the free, republi¬ 
can, and full discussion of principles and candidates, but 
those invidious slanders which, although they are happily 
repelled by ti e good sense, the candor, and in domestic in¬ 
stances, by the delicacy of (he Americam people, tend to 
giv(i a! road i' c )rrect and disparaging impressions. Yet that 
linc^ofPc onduct, from which I must not deviate, except in em- 
minentcase? now out of the question, does not imply a for- 
gctfulnessof facts, nor a refusal to state them occasionally. 
>u- remembrance conoirs with yourowji on this point that, 
Hi the latter end of December, either before or after my 
visit to Annapolis, you being out of the Presidential Candi¬ 
dature, arid after having expressed my abovementioned mo¬ 
tives of forbearance, I, by way of confideiilial exception, aK 
lowt'd myself to put a simple, unqualified question, respect- 
ing your electioneering guess, and your intended vote.— 
Your answ^er was that, in your opinion, the actual state of 
h alili of hlr Crawford had limited the contest to a choice 
between Mr Adams and General Jackson, that a claim 
f II ,ded ( n military acliievcments did not meet your prefer¬ 
ence, and tiuit you had concluded to vote for Mr Adams.—^ 
Sucli has been, if not liie literal wording, at least the precise 
sense of a conversation which it would have been inconsist¬ 
ent for me to carry further and not to keep a secret, while a 
rcc> lleclion of it, toassist your memory,! should not now 
cit ny, not only to you as my friend, but to any man in a simi¬ 
lar situation. 

Present my atfectionate respects to Mrs Clay—remember 
me to dl your fainih , and to our friends in VVashington. I 
w iil write by the same packet to the President. Believe me 
forever your sincere obliged friendj 

LAFAYETm 


(C.) 

Rockville^ J^^ovember $, ImS?. 

Dear Sir: Y^ou requested me to slate the'ex! ressioni^ 
tSsf'd by (.i'M“.'rai Call on his way toCongi'fSsin U'.S4, touch¬ 
ing the contemplated vote of Mr Clay for PresiUent, In the 

F2 



c*'t ment. T have complied wHli your request*—^ 
There was m i h other con\ersation, ijut 1 have confined my¬ 
self strictly to your nquiry. 

Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN DRADDOCK. 

jfe. S. Poresl<i Esq, 

Rockville^ Montgomery County, (Md.) .Abu. 3, 1 8^.?. 

In the Fall of the year 1824,1 saw General Call and sev¬ 
eral other Gentlemen, members of Congress, on their way 
to Washington, at a tavern in Rockville; the}’^ were convers¬ 
ing upon the subject of the Presidential election, and when 
the vote which Mr Clay would probably give was spoken of, 
General Call declarred that the friends of General Jackson 
did not expect Mr Clay to vote for him, and if he did so, it 
would be an act of duplicity upon his part. 

JOHN BRADDOCK. 

Instating the declaration of General Cal! on the subject 
of Mr Clay’s vote, I have omitted an cxjiletive which should 
have been introduced before the word duplicity. Save that 
the foregoing is literally his language. J. 


Philadelphia^ October 2, 1827. 

Sir: Tn answer to yours of yesterday’s date requesting 
me to state to you the particulars of some remarks whicli 
you were informed I had heard General Jacks'on use on the 
sub|ect of the last Presidential Election. I have to state 
that on my way down the Ohio from Wheeling to Cincinnati 
in the month of March 1825, on board the Steam Boat Gen¬ 
eral Neville among many olhei passengers, were General 
Jackson and a number of gentlemen from Pennsylvania, some 
of whom remarked to the General that they regretted that 
lie had not been elected President instead of IVfr Adams.— 
General Jackson replied that if he would have made the 
same promises and offers'^to Mr Clay that Mr Adams had 
done, he, (General Jackson,) would then in Ihat case have 
been in the Presidential Chair, but he would make no pro* 
tnises to any; that if he went to the Presidential Chair ht 
would go with clean hand’, and uncontrolled by any one. 

These remarks were made by General Jackson in fhft 
hearing of Mr James Parker of Chester county, Mr William 
Crowsdill of this City, and myself, and a number of othcf 
gentlemen unknown tome. 

l am, most respectfully, yours, fee. 

' Samuel Wetherill^ Esq, DANIEL LARGEa 



Philadelphia^ October 5, 1S27. 

The statement made by Mr Daniel Large iu the prthxefi 
l< tier, is a faithful account of G* neral Jackson’s conversation 
pii the occasion alluded to» 

WILLIAM CROWSDILL. 


In the winter of 1826-7, Mr Thomas Sloan of Browns-^ 
ville, Va. in a conversation in my bar room respecting the 
election of the President of the United States, and of the 
corrupt bargain and intrigue which procured his election, 
expressed his opinion to be that such practices had been re¬ 
sorted to by Mr Clay and his friends, and justified his belief, 
by stating that General Jackson had informed him so, in a 
conversation with him at Brownsville, and which was in sub¬ 
stance the same since communicated to the public by Geu? 
eral Jackson. 

I further certify, that T lately wrote to Mr Sloan, request¬ 
ing him to give a certiftcate of General Jackson’s statement 
to him, but iiave not received his answer. 

RICHARD SIMMS, 

Wheelings December 19/A, 1827. 

In the winter of 1826-7, Mr Thomas Sloan of Browns¬ 
ville, in a conversation in my presence, respecting the elec¬ 
tion of the present President of the United Spates, and of 
the corrupt bargain and intrigue which procured his election, 
expressed his opinion to be that such practices had been re¬ 
sorted to by Mr Clay; and Justified his belief by relating a 
conversation which he had had on that subject with General 
Jackson at Brownsville, on his return home from Washington 
City,after the election. Mr Sloan rehearsed at length the 
statement made to him by the General, and which was in 
substance the same since communicated to the public by 
General Jacksoa. Mr Sloan further said that a company, of 
which he was one, had met the General near to Brownsville, 
and escorted him into town, whidi was the occasion on which 
he had made the communication referred to. 

ALDEN K. HOWE. 

Wheelings Pa* December 19ihj 1827, 




(K.). 

MR. BRENT’S STATEMENT. 

(See Niles’s Register, Vol.28, Page 25.) 

Frrm tke Kational Journal.. 

[It appears that previous to the publication of the anr.exerl statement,' 
a copy of it was sent to Mr Kremer by Mr Brent, with a request that he 
^voulci examine it, and if he discovered an}' inacuracies, suggest such al- 
terations as he should dee:a necessary.] 

February 25, 1825. 

I state without hesitation, that on the day on which the 
debate took place in the House of Representatives, on the 
})roposition to refer Mr Clay’s communication respecting “Mr 
Kremer’s card” to a committee,} heard Mr Kremer declare 
at the (ire place, in the lobby of the Plouse of Representa' 
lives, in a manner and language wdiich I believed sincere,' 
that he never intended to charge Mr Clay with corrnplion 
or dislionor in his intended vote for Mr Adams as Presidentj 
or that he had transferred, or could transfer, the votes or in-* 
terest of his friends; that he (Mr Kremer) was among the 
last men in the nation to make such a charge against Mr 
Clav, and that his (Mr Kremer’s) letter never was intended 
to convey the idea given to it. The substance of the above 
conversation I immediately communicated to Mr Buclianan 
and Mr Hemphill, of Pennsylvania, and Mr Dwight of Mas¬ 
sachusetts, of the House of Reproentatives. 

WxM. BRKNT, (of Lou.) 

I was present, and heard the observations, as above stated, 
in a conversation between Mr Brtmt and Mr Kremer. 

PETER LITTLE, (of Md.) 


Mr Digges, who was present when the conversation re¬ 
ferred to took place, has aflirmed the truth of Mr Brent’s 
statement, as follows: 

March 1, 1825. 

}n the National Journal I perceive my name men’ioned, 
as to a conversation winch took place in the lobby of ihe 
House of Representatives, between Mr Brent of Louisiana 
and Mr Kremer, and I teel no hesitation in ‘paying that Mr 
Brent’s statement in the paper of tins day, is substantially 
correct. 


WILLIAM DUDLEY DIGGES- 



Extract from a letter from Joseph Kent, Governor of Ma¬ 
ryland, to a gentleman of Frankfort Kentucky, daied 

Roscmont^ May 15/A, 1827, 

have seen so little of late from your Stale upon the 
subject of politics, that I do not know whetlier the violence 
of the opposition to tiie present Administration has extend- 
<'d itself among you or not. Our friend Mr Clay appears to' 
bo the chief object of persecution with the opposition.— 
They arc with great industry conducting a systematical at-' 
tack upon him which commenced with the Kremer stor}', 
whie.li was an entire fabrication. At the time the plot open¬ 
ed I was a member of the House of Representatives', and' 
heard Kremer declare he never designed to charge Mr Clay 
with any thing dishonoralite in his life.” 

‘“The old man, naturally honest, wms imposed on at the 
time by a powerful iatluence, and constrained to art his part 
in an affiir, which from beginning to eiul, was as much a tic- 
fionas the Merry Wives of Windsor, or the School for Scan¬ 
dal. The attack on Mr Clay during the late session of Con¬ 
gress, by General Saunders, as far as 1 could judge from the 
debate as published, proved an entire abortion, and I hardly 
know which surprised me most, the folly of the attack, or 
the inconsistency of the Generaf. You have seen, no doubt, 
that Mr F. Johnson stated in his reply to General Saunders, 
that at the time of the Presidential election in (he House of 
Rf presentatives, Fm, General Saunders, was decidedly in fa- 
%’or of Mr Adams in preference to Gcmeral Jackson, [n 
confirmation of what Mr Johnson has stated, 1 well remem¬ 
ber that not ten minutes before the eFcl.ioii G<'her;;i Saun¬ 
ders came to me, with an anxious countenaticc. di^r'overing 
deep concern indeed, and used these emphatic words*’—“‘I 
hope to God you may be able to terminate the electioti on 
the first ballot, for fear v;c from North Carolitta may he for¬ 
ced to vote for General Jnck«f)n.” “North Cari lina, yow 
know, voted in the House of Representatives for Mr (Jraw- 
ibrd, whose prospect of success was hopeless, although the 
electors of that state gave their votes in favor of General 
Jackson. Knowing the deep iisterest you have always taken 
in Mr Clay’s welfare, I have been induced to give you for 
your personal satisfaction, tl'est' particulars. Mr Clay I 
have known intimately for sixteen years; his public career is 
c<'mpletely identified with every event of the country from 
that period to the present time, whether in peace or war.—- 
Dudingthe late war I have seen the House of Representa- 
bives, after having gone out of Committee of the whole, rd" 


lurn to it a^ain, for the sole purpose oran^>rdin» Mr Clay ai, 
opporluiuty (then Speaker) of putting down the desperate 
and infuriated advocates of British tyranny, insult and inju¬ 
ry. But his enemies say Mr Adams bargained with him.— 
This is assertion without proofs and is destitute of truth, as 
£t is of manly frankness. His superior qualifications placed 
him in the Department of State, and iustory furnishes no in¬ 
stance, when so superior a man ever had to bargain for a 
high station, for which his peculiar fitness w'as evident to ev- 
ery one. In Maryland the Administration is daily gainij)g 
ground, and by the time the election occurs, I hope weshali 
be able to present an undivided front in their support.’’ 


Fi'om the National Journal of Jannarn 15 ', 1828 . 

TO THE PUBLIC. 

When the cause of the present publication is known. If 
hope I shall be excused for making it. I would not trou¬ 
ble the public, was I not forced by recent occurrences to 
do it; and if it were not for the connection these occurren¬ 
ces have w ith the present state of parties in the country, 
and the very unprovoked attack W'hich has been made, upon 
Hie by a •‘volunteer’^ friend of General Jackson, from 
Tennessee. 

During last Spring, I received a letter from a friend oi 
Hiine, informing me that Gen Jackson had charged upon 
the friends of Mr Clay, “a corrupt proposal by them to sell 
their votes to the candidate^ at the late Presidential election, 
7vho would make Mr Clay Secretary of State;’’ and, as one 
of those friends, I was asked if such a charge was true.— 
In a letter ill reply, I could not restrain the indignation I 
felt at such an unfounded accusation, and in expressing 
myself I used a language produced by the excitement. In 
so doing, I never intended to do more than to repel the 
charge I conceived Gen. Jackson made against me. I 
then thought, and I am yet of the same opinion; that he 
who is accused of so base an act as Gen Jackson a't; ibutce 
tome, had a right to use what language he pleased, in 
throw ing off the charge, provided the language was coii' 
fined to the accuser alone. Since the publication of my 
letter by Mr Clay, I have stated, and I now state, that it 
never was my intention, by any expression in that letter, 
to wound the feelings of any of Gen Jackson’s friends, i 
should regret if they thought so, and is is gratifying to 



to know tliaf many of the Genera!’*^ friends are safis^ 
lied of that fact, for they have told ine so But, because 
I dared to speak what I felt, and to exercise tlie right of a 
freeman, in expressing my opinions, in defemling myself, 
i1 appears that, if possible, I am to be sacrificed to the 
vengeance of some wdio surround the Gen'ral for tlie pur-* 
pose of fighting his battles. If Gen Jackson is to be al¬ 
ways surrounded by bullies and desperadi»es', ready to 
hunt up opportunities to try to intimidate and insult tliose 
who defend themselves, and who have the independence 
to express their opinions of him, then indeed, will the day 
yvhidi sees him President of the United States, be the last 
of our liberties. 

These remarks are forced from me by a “Toast” drank at 
the Jackson dinner in this place upon the 8th instant, in 
which Mr Livingston of Louisiana, is complimented, and his 
colleagues, but especially mj'self, assailed. 1 have no ac¬ 
quaintance with the individual who gave it; I never saw him 
before the present session of Congress, and never was intro- 
dveed to him; nor was he here at the late Presidential elec¬ 
tion; and could noti, by any forced construction, consider 
himself aggrieved by any thing contained in my letter; nor 
could I have entertained towards him any unkind feeling.-— 
I make this statement to show the unprovoked manner in 
which I have been assailed. Had that gentleman consider-’ 
ed himself aggrieved by me in any way, or had he desired to 
become the “fighting hero” of General Jackson, he ought, 
by every rule ot honor, to have called upon me in a direct 
manner. Had he done it, I certainly would have answered 
him promptly. 

I tru;«t I have too much self-respect to yield to a feverish 
arid morbid anxiety in castirjg arourid for the angry ebulli¬ 
tions of every “toast drinkner,” or newspaper scribbler or 
bully, who may think proper to offer me an insult by com- 
meriting on the language I used in my letter, and by putting 
wrong constructions upon it. I consider myself bound only 
to answer those who, feeling themselves aggrieved by that 
letter, call upon me in a gentlemanly manner. To such I 
will always accord any satisfaction demanded. The indi¬ 
vidual who gave the “Toast” cannot expect me to take any 
other notice of it th.an I have done: but, in concludirrg, I 
must be pernjitted to, say, tfiat if any thing personal to me 
wasinterrded by it, I unequivocally pronounce such conduct 
3s dishonorable, and at w'ar with every gentlemanly feelings 
WM. L. BRENT, of Louisiana^ 


*f\om the <^*ationalJournal of January 16. 

TO THE PUBLIC. 

In the National Journal of tliis morning, Mr Brent, o# 
Louiaiana, has endeavored to rcdievo himself from tli(^avvk- 
waid situation in which he is suspended l»y the honorable no¬ 
tice which I was pleased to take of liim on the 8tii of Jan. 
last. Neither rny respect nor cinnity fa ifsat ijidividu d, 
will induce me to save him from a responsibility wiiieh the 
-whole character of ids comniunicati n so piteously ‘lisr loses. 

ROBERT DESHA. 

Washington City. January 15, 1828. 

Thefollouing is the toast atlwiedto in the foregoing correspond 
t/earc. 

*• Edward Livingston^ of Louisiana, I'he first and only 
Honor in the lamisiana political pad:: though iieaton in 
the I'lesidcntial game, hy the RN ^ VK from that Stare, 
lie shall shine conspicuous, while the RN Vn.Xwill stand 
belorc the world as a proven base calumniator, unworthy 
of public or pri\ ate confidence, and avoided by every man 
yilio lias a respect lor virtue ami for honor/' 




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